History in Structure

Refining House (Building 19) at Former Marsh Gunpowder Works

A Grade II Listed Building in Faversham, Kent

We don't have any photos of this building yet. Why don't you be the first to send us one?

Upload Photo »

Approximate Location Map
Large Map »

Coordinates

Latitude: 51.3276 / 51°19'39"N

Longitude: 0.8885 / 0°53'18"E

OS Eastings: 601340

OS Northings: 162688

OS Grid: TR013626

Mapcode National: GBR SVX.PGY

Mapcode Global: VHKJP.CW3M

Plus Code: 9F328VHQ+3C

Entry Name: Refining House (Building 19) at Former Marsh Gunpowder Works

Listing Date: 14 December 2001

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1389581

English Heritage Legacy ID: 488269

ID on this website: 101389581

Location: Oare, Swale, Kent, ME13

County: Kent

District: Swale

Civil Parish: Faversham

Built-Up Area: Faversham

Traditional County: Kent

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Kent

Tagged with: Architectural structure

Find accommodation in
Oare

Description


FAVERSHAM

TR 06 SW HAM ROAD
659/6/10029 Refining House (Building 19) at former
14-DEC-01 Marsh Gunpowder Works

GV II

Refining house at saltpetre refinery, part of gunpowder works, now store. 1789. Yellow brick with corrugated iron hipped roof.

PLAN: Rectangular single-cell plan.

EXTERIOR: Single storey, originally with flat heads each side, the SE front now with central inserted vehicle entry, blocked right-hand doorway; blocked doorways in each end.

INTERIOR: Timber trusses.

HISTORY: The Marsh works were part of the Royal Gunpowder Factory which was established outside Faversham in 1786 after an explosion in the town, to remove some of the more dangerous processes. They played an important part in the improvement of British gunpowder leading up to and during the Napoleonic Wars, under William Congreve. The saltpetre refinery was built in 1789 as part of Congreve's successful drive to improve the ingredients of British powder. It was privatised after the war, and closed in the 1920s.

The refining house was where saltpetre was treated to improve its consistency and quality, and is one of the two original refinery buildings on the site. It forms part of a discrete, coherent group of late C18-early C19 industrial buildings for refining saltpetre, the best preserved of this type in the country and comparable with French and Swedish examples.

(Wayne Cocroft, Dangerous Energy. The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture. Swindon (English Heritage), 2000, pp. 54-67)

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

Other nearby listed buildings

BritishListedBuildings.co.uk is an independent online resource and is not associated with any government department. All government data published here is used under licence. Please do not contact BritishListedBuildings.co.uk for any queries related to any individual listed building, planning permission related to listed buildings or the listing process itself.

British Listed Buildings is a Good Stuff website.