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Original Text (Annotation: EAW052580 / 1383825)
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Curtis's and Harvey Ltd, explosives manufacturer. This site was originally set up in 1892 for the storage and blending of gunpowder by Hay, Merricks & Co Ltd, who shipped the gunpowder from their mill near Edinburgh. In 1898, they were merged into Curtis's and Harvey Ltd, who set about the manufacture of new, smokeless, chemical explosives. In the years up to the First World War, they were involved in the manufacture of 38 different explosives, fuses and primers on the site. By 1908, HM Inspector of Explosives was of the opinion that the works was one of the largest in the British Isles. During WW1, production of cordite increased dramatically. At the end of the War, demand collapsed and production ceased by 1921.
Source: English Heritage Report 11-2011: 'Curtis's and Harvey Ltd Explosives Factory, Cliffe and Cliffe Woods, Medway. Archeological Survey and Analysis of the Factory Remains.' Rebecca Pullen, Sarah Newsome, Andrew Williams and Wayne Cocroft 2013. ISSN 1749-8775 '
