First, a bit of background...

When you visit Crane Park Island Nature Reserve today, it’s hard to believe this was once a noisy bustling factory, the site of the Hounslow Gunpowder Mills. In this quiet spot gunpowder and explosives were  roduced for several hundred years. The Tower, now a London Wildlife Trust Visitor Centre, is the only  industrial building left of the 160 structures which once covered over 100 acres.

The river Crane has been an important source of energy for centuries; it was used to power all sorts of watermills,  rinding corn and creating products made of calico, flax, copper, and linseed, but it’s most important industries were connected with the military. There were sword mills in Feltham and most importantly the Gunpowder mills in  edfont and Hounslow.

Eventually, with the coming of peace after World War One and the growth of population in the area, having a factory here was not viable and the Mills finally closed in 1926. Some of the land was sold for housing and the rest became Crane Park.

Crane Park as we know it today, with it’s river inlets, blast mounds and ruins was formed by the way the land was been used in the past. This natural environment, home to a wide range of insects, birds and animals was created by the industrial environment of the past.

Big Bangs to Blue Flashes

The two year Heritage Lottery Fund project ( 2007-2009) 'Big Bangs to Blue Flashes' aimed to help local people understand, appreciate and become more involved with this amazing natural and historical site. Using research into the past uses of the site, accessing local knowledge, reminiscence sessions and increased research information it was intended to develop further interpretation for the site. 

Delivering the project

London Wildlife Trust's dedicated Heritage Officer set about doing a range of things...

• Research was undertaken into the history of the site, using Syon House Archives, the Richmond and Hounslow Local Studies Libraries, the NMR and many other sources to collate as much background information as possible for the site.
• Presentations were made to many local groups of older residents, (OAP clubs, church groups, U3A, history groups etc) to encourage involvement in reminiscence sessions.
• Reminiscence sessions were held to record the stories of local people exploring their memories of the Gunpowder Mills and the Shot Tower, and how the park was used in the past.
• Several heritage themed guided walks were held targeting older people, families and ethnic minorities.
• Family learning workshops took place throughout the project. Activities included art and craft sessions linked with the park’s heritage, map making and activities exploring use of charcoal.
• The drama club of a local secondary school, Orleans Park, worked in a series of workshops, with a group of actors, Theatre Merchants. They created a script, produced set designs, helped with lighting and finally delivered a theatrical production for the local community. The play was based on the history of the site and its possible involvement in the Gunpowder Plot.

Leaving a legacy

The drama project culminated in a very successful light and sound event that celebrated the involvement of many sectors of the community. Local schools were involved in the production, family groups made lanterns for the procession and many of the older people involved in the reminiscence sessions came to watch.

An exhibition/display including the oral history testimonies, scrap books and other materials is now kept in the Visitor Centre at the Tower.  Other items, old maps, aerial photographs, census records and many other aspects of the research from the project are archived digitally at LWT and in hard copy at the Visitor Centre,

Some of the most relevant researched information was used to create an educational resource pack for local schools. This pack includes a DVD tool kit and a range of activity sheets. A self guided Heritage trail around the Island was created and a second trail extends further into the Park itself.

The Crane Valley Park gained a huge number of votes from the local population in the London Mayor’s Priority Parks Programme and won funding of £400,000 for improvements. The information about the park’s past gleaned during the CPI HLF project is proving useful for making decisions about Crane Park’s future.