[urbanspaceman]

Good question Triari. General knowledge appears to indicate the suitability of the (originally 4,000 acre) location as an army camp-ground, certainly dating back to Roman occupation times.
The Cut river was a man-made canal built to supply the Duke of Northumberland's Syon House. In 1639 Jenkes attempted to gain permission from the Duke (the original letter is in Alnwick Castle) to build a mill using the Cut for power. NB: Jenkes (who was working for Stone at the time) also mentions secret machines and typically promises to teach us Limeys the craft.
In regard to Stone: his story is told by both parties quite differently. The only sticking point (oops) is just how much smuggling of blades was involved... it may not have been anything. If Oley could supply 21,000 blades pa, and he was the only bladesmith, then I am certain Stone could have matched that quite comfortably; the Hounslow marked blades that included the Passau Wolf may easily have been marked by the local Germans... who were more than entitled to so do. A Munsten blade is a Munsten blade - regardless of where it was forged, save perhaps for the quality of the ore.