Royal Arsenal

The Royal Arsenal, originally known as the Woolwich Arsenal, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research. It was sited on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London. It was formally established as an Ordnance Storage Depot in 1671 on a 31 acre (125,000 m²) site, the Warren in Tower Place. An ammunition laboratory (the Royal Laboratory) was added in 1695, and a gun foundry (the Royal Brass Foundry) was established in 1717. By 1777 it had risen to 104 acres (0.4 km²). Shortly afterwards, convict labour was used to construct an, approximately, 2.5 mile long brick boundary wall, generally eight-foot high. In 1804 this wall was raised to 20 foot near the Plumstead road, and to 15 foot in other parts. In 1814-16, convict labour was also used to dig a canal (the Ordnance Canal), which formed the eastern boundary.

Crimean War build-up

As part of the preparations for the Crimean War (1854-56), Frederick Abel (later Sir Frederick Abel) was appointed the first War Office Chemist with the aim of investigating the new chemical explosives which were then being developed. He was mostly responsible for bringing Guncotton into safe use and for winning a patent dispute brought by Alfred Nobel against the British Government over the patent rights to Cordite which Abel had jointly developed with Professor James Dewar. A new Chemical Laboratory was built to Abel's requirements; this was numbered Building 20. Abel was also responsible for the technical management of the Royal Gunpowder Factory. He retired from the Royal Arsenal in 1888.

Related Topics:
Crimean War - Frederick Abel - War Office - Chemist - Guncotton - Patent - Alfred Nobel - Cordite - James Dewar

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1854 also saw the installation of a Retort house for the Royal Arsenal's Gas Works.

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By the time of the Crimean War the Royal Arsenal was one of three Royal munitions Factories; the other two being the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock, and the Royal Gun Powder Factory, Waltham Abbey. The Royal Arsenal greatly expanded its area eastwards outside its brick boundary wall onto the Plumstead Marshes.

Related Topics:
Royal Small Arms Factory - Enfield - Lock - Waltham Abbey - Marshes

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In 1886 workers at the Arsenal formed a football club initially known as Dial Square after the workshops in the heart of the complex, playing their first game on 11 December (a 6-0 victory over East Wanderers) at Plumstead Common. Renamed Royal Arsenal two weeks later (and also known as the 'Woolwich Reds'), the club entered the professional football league as Woolwich Arsenal in 1893. Today it is known simply as Arsenal F.C., having moved to north London in 1913.

Related Topics:
1886 - Football - 11 December - Plumstead - 1893 - Arsenal F.C. - 1913

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