More interviews, more information…

I had the pleasure of meeting Alice last week, a retired history teacher. 

She allowed me to interview her on camera at her home in Appleby on 6th November, and had an amazing wealth of knowledge. 

She wrote her thesis back in the 70's on the 'Low Wood Gunpowder Mill', its inception and early growth, 1798 - 1808, and allowed me to borrow this. Another fantastic book that she was able to loan me was a Ph. D by Robert Vickers, doctor of philosophy at Lancaster  entitled 'The South Lakeland Gunpowder Manufacturing Industry, 1764 - 1936. It was given to her by Doctor Vickers as a token of gratitude for all the help that she had given him with the work. I felt honoured to be trusted with it. It was almost as if there was nothing she didn't know about the subject and I shall be making a few visits back to Alice before the project is over. Apparently the gunpowder trade was heavily linked to the slave trade as there was a fortune to be made in both. She also told me that if I started calling it 'Savin' then the locals would know what I meant because 'juniper' doesn't mean much in Westmorland.

On Wednesday the 7th, I headed over to the beautiful village of Sedgwick to meet David, another mine of information. His family had been involved in the trade locally for many generations. 

He also allowed me to interview him on camera, with a steady supply of freshly baked cakes and biscuits from his lovely wife. He told me the history behind Killington Lake, which had been man made to keep the supply of water going to several mills in drier seasons. He also drove me around to look over the gunpowder mill on the edge of Sedgwick, and as I stood there I could feel the history seeping in from the surrounding area.
We were standing in Pig Willy Lane and looked up to see a pig looking down at us from the slope in the woods. OK you didn't need to know that! David is passionate about the industry and has helped English Heritage in the past on a major project to catalogue this local history for future generations.

Having now completed several interviews and picked up a vast amount of information, I am coming to the conclusion that we mustn't overplay the use of 'Savin' in the charcoal production. Yes it was used in plenty, but not as heavily as other woods. It was coppiced every 12-15 years to keep a good supply coming, but Juniper was seen as a specialist wood in the making of fine gunpowder for the gentry. I don't get the impression that the cumbrian hills were swamped with this tree, but there was certainly a lot more of it around than there was before the gunpowder boys got to work.

I think I've spent enough time on the road so next week will be all about working on the information that I've gathered so far. The week after that it's over to interview Mike, the 'Savin' expert of the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, and hopefully he can arrange for me to go out with the planters one day?

Then I need to find someone who makes charcoal and I'm still looking for someone who still uses gunpowder to either fire canons or small arms! Not a big ask, do you think??