FOR over half a century it produced scientific discoveries of national importance but few in the area knew of its existence.

Ongar Research Station played a key part in veterinary research for over 50 years until it closed in 2001 with few aware of its history of achievement including the discovery of the world's largest selling veterinary medicine now used to treat pets with fleas.

Now, author and former technician at the site Peter Snowy' Evans, has written a history of the station opening up its secrets for the first time.

The site began life in 1946 when pharmaceutical company May and Baker Ltd bought Boarded Barns Farm, in Fyfield Road, from Edith Hill to set up a veterinary research station.

In the following years it would become an agricultural research station and continued in this path for the next 55 years until the site was sold by French company Rhone Poulenc seven years ago.

The first scientist at the plant is recorded as Mr Johnson who had been in the Army Medical Corps in the Middle East.

By 1947 the site had employed Keith Carpenter as a horticultural research scientist and by 1954 he had become responsible for the entire agricultural and horticultural research and development department setting the groundwork for the station's later reputation in the fields of agrochemicals.

In order to carry out all the aspects of its work the site contained many unusual facilities including tropical plant houses, a water treatment plant and an apiary to house bees.

The main purpose of Ongar Research Station was to test new chemicals against agricultural diseases and pests, and in 1973, 1,694 new compounds were tested with luck often playing a part - on one occasion a compound made to test against a poultry disease was eventually marketed as a weed killer. In turn a chemical created for use as a weed killer was later used in a commercial product to kill rats.

Much agricultural research also took place at the site and every year its gardeners would supply 75,000 pots of weeds to be grown under greenhouse conditions.

To help research into insecticide 27 insect species harmful to plants would also be kept and maintained.

Several important drug discoveries were made at the site including decoquinate, used to treat poultry, thiophanate, used to treat parasitic worms in livestock, and fipronil which plays an important part in the world of herbicide.

The site was bought in 2001 by the German company Bayer but it has now left the area and since that time an unsuccessful application to demolish part of the park and replace it with housing has been made.

Commenting on his new booklet, Mr Evans said: "Commercial research is essentially a secretive occupation to stop competitors being able to have access to the discoveries before they have been patented and commercialised.

"It is not surprising therefore that what went on in the research station during the latter half of the twentieth century was unknown to the majority of the Ongar population.

"This account had been written essentially for the non-scientific reader and future historians."

Copies of A History of Ongar Research Station are available in return for donations (£10 minimum), to the East Herts and West Essex branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. To apply for a copy, email Mr Evans at snowyevans@aol.com with the heading ORS form' or write to ORS form c/o Whitegates, Chelmsford Road, Ongar, Essex, CM5 9LX.