Powder mill

Period: 16th century

Gunpowder mills did not exist in 12th-century England, as gunpowder was unknown in Europe then. Gunpowder weapons appear in the 14th century, and the first gunpowder works in England was established in the 16th century, possibly at the instigation of the abbey at Faversham, Kent. Mills ground and mixed saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal. Faversham remained a centre of the industry for centuries.