Woolwich Royal Arsenal wins top engineering award

The weapons factory which helped build the British Empire and win two world wars has been given the Engineering Heritage Award plaque by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

It now joins the ranks of previous winners including the Harrier Jump Jet, the Thames Barrier and the Channel Tunnel.

Institution president John Wood said: “The British Empire was forged in the furnaces of Woolwich, and we couldn’t have won two world wars without the world-class engineering that took place here.

“This award places the Royal Arsenal alongside the very greatest engineering feats in the country.

“With this award we also want to celebrate the work of Sir John Anderson, the Royal Arsenal’s first chief mechanical engineer, whose innovations helped shape 19th century warfare.”

Founded in 1671, the arsenal designed and engineered Britain’s weapons and artillery for nearly 300 years, providing rifles for the Duke of Wellington, artillery for Lord Kitchener and tanks for General Montgomery.

By the early 20th century it had become one of the largest weapons factories in the world, employing 80,000 people, and was at the forefront of weapons research and engineering.

Sir John Anderson had spearheaded that innovation, inventing a new method for mass-producing rifles and bullets which was first used in the Crimean War.

Chief operating officer of the Firepower Royal Artillery Museum Eileen Noon said the factory was “one of London’s hidden heritage gems”.

She said: “This award underlines the great heritage of the arsenal and the contribution of many local Woolwich people.”

The factories closed in 1967 and the site is now home to the Royal Arsenal Riverside housing development.