The Chilworth Gunpowder Company ran factories at several locations, including Kames, Argyll and Fernilee, Derbyshire.

Charles Matthew West married my great aunt. In the 1901 census Charlie, aged 27 years, was working as a cooper at the Fernilee 'mill'. He is recorded as born in Scotland but family tradition is more specific -Tighnabruaich.

West not being an Argyll name, my guess is his father moved to Scotland from some other gunpowder manufacturing area. I have another relation (George Raven) who moved from Elterwater, Cumbria where he and his father had been coopers in another Chilworth Gunpowder Factory to take up similar work at Fernilee.

Is anybody out there interested in the Kames factory and its workers? Where did they come from?