Gunflint Trade
Enclosure took place during the Napoleonic wars when Brandon experienced a
boom period because of its involvement in the Gunflint trade. A.J.Forrest in his
'Masters of Flint' shows how lucrative was this trade. In 1813, for example,
flintmasters in the town were contracted to supply the Board of Ordnance with
over a million guntlints each month. The value of these flints was between
£13,000 and £18,000 per month, an enormous sum of money for a town of 1300
inhabitants.
Bread Or Blood
At the end of the war, the need for gunflints fell sharply and so did the
income of the town. At a time of widespread depression in agriculture and rising
food prices, rioting broke out in various parts of East Anglia, including
Brandon. The cry of these protesters was for 'Bread or Blood this day'.
John Basham ©2000
