Bit the bullet today and decided to go to the old Wells Fireworks site in Dartford after seeing it on maps. What maps don’t tell you is how bad the terrain is and that unless you’re prepared to battle with a forest of nettles and brambles it’s not really worth visiting, most of the huts are inaccessible and the couple we found that were were empty. Also it’s around a mile and half from the nearest place to park if you don’t want to park on the road it’s on so you don’t advertise your presence. Don’t try cutting through the woods, a waste of time and we got a bit lost.
Called it a day after my daughter (14 so not a little one) fell over in some nettles then stood in an ant nest. Glad we went tho to investigate and knock it off the list.
History- Wells Fireworks was founded by Joseph Wells in 1837 in, Dartford, Kent; having learned his trade as an explosive lighter man on the River Thames in London.
Wells Fireworks quickly became the leading display company in the UK and established a reputation for the manufacture and display of the finest quality fireworks. Using the Wells “Crown Brand” the company displayed at Cowes and Henley Regattas, Coronations and Jubilees to the Royal Family. Securing an international reputation for excellence this led to high value commissions including the LA Olympics, the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics, Rose Bowl displays and designing the original fireworks shows for Disneyland in Florida.
After operating for nearly a century and a half, sadly in the late 1970s it became financially impossible to compete with the now widely available Chinese imports and Wells was forced to shut its manufacturing plant in Dartford. Led by Stuart Orr, a chemist at the plant, some of the employees took the Wells brand and moved the entire operation to West Sussex. Specialising in close proximity stage pyrotechnics for the entertainment industry, Wells continued its reputation for excellence and supplied to most of the UK’s leading fireworks companies.
Called it a day after my daughter (14 so not a little one) fell over in some nettles then stood in an ant nest. Glad we went tho to investigate and knock it off the list.
History- Wells Fireworks was founded by Joseph Wells in 1837 in, Dartford, Kent; having learned his trade as an explosive lighter man on the River Thames in London.
Wells Fireworks quickly became the leading display company in the UK and established a reputation for the manufacture and display of the finest quality fireworks. Using the Wells “Crown Brand” the company displayed at Cowes and Henley Regattas, Coronations and Jubilees to the Royal Family. Securing an international reputation for excellence this led to high value commissions including the LA Olympics, the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics, Rose Bowl displays and designing the original fireworks shows for Disneyland in Florida.
After operating for nearly a century and a half, sadly in the late 1970s it became financially impossible to compete with the now widely available Chinese imports and Wells was forced to shut its manufacturing plant in Dartford. Led by Stuart Orr, a chemist at the plant, some of the employees took the Wells brand and moved the entire operation to West Sussex. Specialising in close proximity stage pyrotechnics for the entertainment industry, Wells continued its reputation for excellence and supplied to most of the UK’s leading fireworks companies.
