Gunpowder Pains

By the nineteenth century, English firework makers including Brock, Pain and Wells had established themselves in the London area to be later followed by Standard Fireworks and others in the North. Thus the availability of locally-produced gunpowder and fireworks was enough to eschew any drift towards European suppliers. 

The history of Pains Fireworks began in about 1593 when John Pain established his business as a gunpowder manufacturer and armourer near Bow Bridge in East London. It is also documented that twelve years later, in 1605, he had the dubious distinction of being the supplier of the one tonne of powder required by Mr Guy Fawkes for reasons mentioned previously ... 

Later in the seventeenth Century Peter Pain, a French descendant of the Pain Family, moved to Bow Bridge to join the London arm of the family. During this period customers for Pains gunpowder included Charles II and James II. 

I watched the flames. They were beautiful, irregular, eager, and pure. They yearned up and up to the air and climbed toward me round the edge of my apron. Another gust of air wafted from the window and the flames burned brighter still, and the pain was so intense I felt my stomach turn to water. I thought. It is the air, it is the air that the fire needs, and whatever is in the air is also in my skirts and in niter and gunpowder. 

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