Old Sedgwick Gunpowder Works, Cumbria: an Archaeological and Historical Survey. Survey Report
Author(s): Marcus Jecock, Christopher Dunn
In November 2001, English Heritage carried out an archaeological survey and investigation of Old Sedgwick Gunpowder Works in Cumbria. The site is the earliest recorded gunpowder works in Cumbria and was established by John Wakefield I and partners c 1764 on the left bank of the River Kent, close to Sedgwick village. The survey showed that contrary to previous opinion, slight earthwork traces do survive, and also that two minor buildings associated with the mill probably still stand: namely the steam-boiler house within the main works, and a small expense magazine or storehouse at the site of the nearby canal wharf. However, the survey had to draw heavily on documentary evidence, in particular 19th-century maps, in order to arrive at a meaningful interpretation of that physical survival. (This was report number 11/2002 in a previous reports series)
- Report Number:
- 124/2002
- Series:
- Other
- Pages:
- 52
