Uplees Explosives Factories

The Cotton Powder Co Ltd set up a gun cotton factory on Uplees Marshes in 1873. By 1915 the site had expanded greatly and was now producing distress signals, detonators, cordite, gelignite and dynamite.

The site also had its own part time fire brigade, rail mounted crane jetty, electricity generators, boilers and coal gas plant.

Before the start of the First World War there were other manufacturers of explosives who also set up factories on the marsh. This made the area one of the major centres of UK explosives production. One of these companies was Explosives Loading Company Ltd who set up to the west of the Cotton Powder Co’s site. The purpose of ELC’s factory was the compression of T.N.T. and later ammonium nitrate into charges for shells, torpedoes and mines. On the 2nd April 1916 a massive explosion occurred at the ELC site, specifically building 833 which was storing 150 tonnes of white-crystallised ammonium nitrate, as well as 15 tonnes of T.N.T. In total 108 people lost their lives to the explosion. The explosion caused immense damage to the ELC site and damaged some of the CPC sites buildings.

Another explosion occurred in 1918 although this time at the CPC site although this wasn’t as bad.

By November 1918 almost all production at the sites has ceased and most buildings of wooden construction were either burnt or sold off.

The last remaining buildings on the site saw their use end between 1934-1936 and the site reverted back to farm and marsh land.