Stowmarket Guncotton Explosion
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The Stowmarket Guncotton Explosion happened on 11 August 1871, at the Prentices Guncotton Factory in Stowmarket, Suffolk.[1] It was blown up by two massive explosions, that occurred within the factory, killing 28 people and injuring approximately 70 others.
It was a Friday afternoon when the two explosions took place. The noise of the explosion was reported to be so loud, that it rattled the windows in Diss, approximately 17 miles away and Southwold 30 miles away. The impact uprooted the nearby railway line and caused over 188 cases of deafness. The UK Government issued an order with a reward of £100 to find out the cause. The cause was probably several tons of gun cotton combusting due to the summer heat and the poor standards of hygiene, as well as a blatant disregard for health and safety.
Two members of the Prentice family, who owned the factory, William Ridley Prentice (1847–1871) and Edward Henry Prentice (1838–1871) were included in the list of the dead, one killed in each explosion respectively.[1][2]
23 of the dead were buried in the town's old cemetery the other 5 in their respective Parish. Many of the dead were not given a memorial at the time, and there were reports of the Suffolk council downplaying the number of fatalities. However, there is now a small memorial at Stowmarket Old Cemetery.[3]
References
- ^ a b Black, Don. "Abiding mystery of the Stowmarket gun cotton explosion". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ^ "Find a will | GOV.UK". probatesearch.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ^ Knott, Simon (2017-08-15), the victims of Stowmarkets Guncotton Explosion, retrieved 2020-08-05
- The Mechanics' Magazine and Journal of Science, Arts, and Manufactures. Volume 96. April 6, 1872. pp. 283–284. Accessed January 2014.
- Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine. p. 322.