The Royal Small Arms Factory opened on the island in 1816, and functioned right through until 1988, manufacturing rifles, muskets and swords. Several notable incidents took place throughout this time, including an explosion which injured three workers in 1895, and the death of a worker due to a grindstone falling through a floor in 1894.
Prior to the Enfield factory a smaller one had been operating in Lewisham, but within two years of the Enfield site opening, production ceased in Lewisham. The demand caused by the Crimean War in the 1850s provided the factory with a boost, and later conflicts including both world wars enabled it to expand further.
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