121:
227:
567:
464:
185:
24:
312:
211:, which needed to be produced as close as possible to the smelting sites because it would crumble to dust if transported far by cart over rough tracks. Wood was also needed for pre-roasting the ore on open fires, a process which broke down the lumps or nodules and converted the carbonate into oxide. Large areas of woodland were available in the Weald and
388:
Downs does indicate that smelting may have been going on at other undiscovered sites. It was usual for settlements concentrated along the Downs to have outlying parcels of land in the Weald for summer grazing. It is likely that smelting was carried out during the summer and the iron blooms taken back to the main settlement to work on in the winter.
387:
methods. The technology used there was similar to a slightly earlier furnace excavated in the eastern
Netherlands, indicating that knowledge of Romano-British methods had been completely lost and replaced by the Saxons' own method. Evidence of forging of iron blooms in settlements close to the South
246:
ran continuously for more than three years in the 1740s. Finery forges with three or four waterwheels to drive bellows and hammers needed more water than a furnace at times, although continuity was not as important. They tended to be sited downstream from a furnace if they were in the same valley.
203:
to give the best results. Sites of opencast quarries survive from the pre-Roman and Roman eras, but medieval ore extraction was mainly done by digging a series of minepits about five metres in diameter and up to twelve metres deep with material being winched up in baskets suspended from a wooden
247:
Ponds were created by building a dam known as a pond bay, which often served as a road, across one of the many valleys in the undulating
Wealden landscape. In 1754 one furnace was so drought-stricken that its manager considered hiring workmen to turn the wheel as a
1157:
283:
in the western Weald. Continuity of pottery styles from the Iron Age into the early Roman period makes precise dating of many sites to before or after the Roman conquest difficult. Carbon dating has identified a site at
Cullinghurst Wood,
697:, who did not want a fence around the Cathedral at all, and said that if there had to be one it should be of wrought rather than cast iron. The railings surrounded the cathedral, including seven gates. It weighed two hundred
374:
seems to have brought a complete end to the Romano-British iron industry. No evidence of iron smelting has been found after the end of Roman rule until the ninth century when a primitive bloomery was built at
Millbrook on
362:, suggesting that they were actually run by, or were supplying iron to this Roman fleet. Total iron production has been estimated at 750 tons per year, but under 200 tons per year after 250 AD.
665:
production was never widespread in the Weald, with most high quality steel being imported from Spain, the Middle East, or
Germany. A steel forge was built upstream from Newbridge Furnace on
651:. A few ironworks continued operating on a very small scale. With no local source of mineral coal, the Wealden iron industry was unable to compete with the new coke-fired ironworks of the
238:
in the late medieval period. Blast furnaces needed to operate continuously for as long as possible and a series of ponds were often created in a valley to give a sustainable flow for the
475:
Nearly 180 sites in all were used for this process, having a furnace, a forge or both between the 15th century and 18th century. Waterpower was the means of operating the
219:
required the timber production from a 3 miles (4.8 km) radius of a furnace in a landscape that was a quarter to a third wooded. Forging and finishing of the iron from
242:. A campaign, as the production run was known, usually ran from October through to late spring when streams began to dry up, although Lamberhurst Furnace driven by the
659:. Little survives of the furnace and forge buildings, although there are still scores of the industry's hammer and furnace ponds scattered throughout the Weald.
391:
In all some 30 unpowered medieval bloomery sites are known in the Weald, but most of these remain undated. Accounts survive of the operation of just one, at
279:
is the westernmost place where smelting has been ascertained, although there is a possible site associated with an Iron Age enclosure at Piper's Copse near
340:, and many of their roads there are the means of transport for the ore, and were extensively metalled with slag from iron smelting. The sites of about 113
689:
The
Lamberhurst Foundry is believed to have been the maker in 1710–14 of some of the earliest cast-iron railings produced in England, which they made for
677:
in Kent, produced steel using skilled German workers, but faced strong competition from German suppliers. In the 17th century a steel forge existed at
495:. Scattered through the Weald are ponds still to be found called ’Furnace Pond’ or ’Hammer Pond’. The iron was used for making household utensils,
705:
a pound. The total cost was £11,202. No further railings are known to have been cast in the Weald. Other early uses of cast iron railings were at
901:(2nd edn, Merton Priory Press, Cardiff, 1995), 79-84; based on work by H. F. Cleere, including 'Some operating parameters for Roman ironworks'
601:, peaking at over 9000 tons per year in the 1590s. However, after 1650, Wealden production became increasingly focused on the production of
609:
was only produced for local consumption. This decline may have begun as early as the 1610s, when
Midland ironware began to be sold in
204:
tripod. This was less destructive of the land as spoil from one pit was used to backfill the previous pit allowing continued land use.
88:
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41:
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made from trees in the heavily wooded landscape. The industry in the Weald declined when ironmaking began to be fuelled by
525:
74:
955:"The Lordship of Canterbury, iron-founding at Buxted, and the continental antecedents of cannon-founding in the Weald"
857:
107:
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and blast furnaces also required large quantities of charcoal and was usually carried out at a separate site.
226:
1055:
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woodlands could provide a sustainable source of wood. Sustainable charcoal production for a post-medieval
125:
1189:
1059:
1179:
379:, with a small hearth for reheating the blooms nearby. The date of this site has been established by
264:
1184:
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81:
710:
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535:), as the actual ironworks only required a small workforce. The wars fought during the reign of
34:
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in 55 and 54 BC Julius Caesar noted iron production near the coast, possibly at known sites at
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652:
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into bankruptcy. They were unable to match the much lower price that was acceptable to the
985:
P. W. King, 'The production and consumption of bar iron in early modern
England and Wales'
195:, commonly known as iron stone or historically as mine, occurs in patches or bands in the
8:
629:
618:
276:
496:
380:
358:
199:
clays of the Weald. Differing qualities of ore were extracted and mixed by experienced
328:, where evidence has been found of probably the third largest iron works in the whole
263:
So far only about two dozen sites have been identified where iron was made before the
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251:. This need for continuous water power was an incentive in the development of the
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around 1505 but had ceased production by 1539. The Sydney family, with mills at
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144:. It was formerly an important industry, producing a large proportion of the
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531:. Most of them would have been engaged in mining ore and cutting wood (for
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448:
424:
371:
329:
272:
235:
145:
939:
J. S. Hodgkinson & C.H.C. Whittick, 'The
Tudeley ironworks accounts'
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628:
Cannon production was a major activity in the Weald until the end of the
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Water power became important with the introduction of blast furnaces and
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was in this period one of the most important iron-producing regions in
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burned during the Marian persecutions of
Protestants during the 1550s.
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parish. The number of ironworks increased greatly from about 1540.
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golf course, beneath which are remains of the Roman ironworks.
153:
1001:
Hammer and Furnace Ponds - Relics of the Wealden Iron Industry
255:, a waterwheel driven by water raised by a steam engine pump.
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made full use of the brown- and ochre-coloured stone in the
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seems to have been unable to compete in the London market.
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356:. Excavations at a few sites have produced tiles of the
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iron began to be imported in large quantities after the
559:
cast the first iron cannon for his unlikely employer: a
418:
124:
Cast iron railings for St. Paul's Cathedral, now in the
1159:
The historical geography of the Wealden iron industry
589:
In the 16th century and the early 17th century, the
451:. It was introduced in about 1490 at Queenstock in
467:A moving model of a Wealden blast furnace based on
48:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1171:
517:The industry was at its peak towards the end of
156:until about 1770. Ironmaking in the Weald used
415:, but fewer than ten such sites are suspected.
176:, which does not occur accessibly in the area.
344:have been identified as Roman, mainly in East
795:. Stroud: The History Press. pp. 28–30.
1017:
952:
919:. Stroud: The History Press. pp. 35–6.
769:
755:. Stroud: The History Press. pp. 9–55.
423:A new ironmaking process was devised in the
370:The invasion and settlement of the Weald by
1113:Webpage for the Wealden Iron Research Group
953:Awty, Brian; Whittick, Christopher (2002).
908:
866:
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750:
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510:. The first blast furnace was recorded at
1028:. Stroud: The History Press. p. 62.
970:
877:. Stroud: The History Press. p. 31.
431:in the 15th century. This spread to the
258:
108:Learn how and when to remove this message
809:
565:
543:, and the Weald became the centre of an
521:'s reign. Most works were small, but at
462:
310:
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119:
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733:Medway watermills (middle tributaries)
684:
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728:Medway watermills (upper tributaries)
655:. The last to close was the forge at
632:, but a cut in the price paid by the
547:. Cast-iron cannon were made in the
419:The introduction of the blast furnace
402:
152:in the 16th century and most British
46:adding citations to reliable sources
17:
1139:Fernhurst's iron industry 1614-1777
563:who was gunstonemaker to the king.
306:
13:
1062:, 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
14:
1211:
1086:
959:Sussex Archaeological Collections
439:and then to the Weald. The new
22:
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992:
979:
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33:needs additional citations for
1075:(1957), "Cast Iron: history",
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891:
230:River Teise near Furnace Mill.
1:
897:H. Cleere & D. Crossley,
738:
407:From about the 14th century,
1077:Metal Crafts in Architecture
1003:. Lewes: Pomegranate Press.
817:"Beauport Park, East Sussex"
693:, despite the objections of
318:View of the 13th fairway of
179:
126:Victoria & Albert Museum
7:
716:
435:on the eastern boundary of
365:
288:to between 350 and 750 BC.
10:
1216:
1079:, I.B. Tauris, p. 101
1060:Victoria and Albert Museum
899:Iron industry of the Weald
267:, mostly scattered across
207:The fuel for smelting was
1026:The Wealden Iron Industry
917:The Wealden Iron Industry
875:The Wealden Iron Industry
793:The Wealden Iron Industry
776:Straker, Ernest (1969) .
753:The Wealden Iron Industry
399:in the mid-14th century.
164:beds, and was fuelled by
1073:Gerald Kenneth Geerlings
1024:Hodgkinson, J S (2009).
915:Hodgkinson, J S (2009).
873:Hodgkinson, J S (2009).
848:Margary, Ivan D (1968).
791:Hodgkinson, J S (2009).
751:Hodgkinson, J S (2009).
299:and Crowhurst Park near
191:Iron ore in the form of
850:Roman ways in the Weald
711:St Martin-in-the-Fields
539:increased the need for
411:began to be applied to
57:"Wealden iron industry"
1161:by Mary Cecilia Delany
943:2 ser. 18 (1998), 7-38
707:Cambridge Senate House
636:drove several Wealden
593:was a major source of
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581:who was one of the 17
472:
427:region of what is now
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259:Prehistoric ironmaking
253:water-returning engine
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1195:History of metallurgy
1056:Railings M.209:1-1976
653:Industrial Revolution
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134:Wealden iron industry
123:
903:Inst Archaeol. Bull.
293:invasions of Britain
42:improve this article
691:St Paul's Cathedral
685:St Paul's Cathedral
613:. Certainly after
597:for manufacture in
459:The mature industry
443:process involved a
277:Broadfield, Crawley
136:was located in the
999:Pearce, H (2012).
989:58(1) (2005), 1-9.
905:13 (1976), 233-46.
587:
545:armaments industry
483:and for operating
473:
403:Powered bloomeries
359:Classis Britannica
316:
275:. A large site at
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189:
130:
1190:History of Sussex
1165:Wikimedia Commons
1104:/1543-ironmasters
1035:978-0-7524-4573-1
1010:978-1-907242-15-1
926:978-0-7524-4573-1
884:978-0-7524-4573-1
852:. Phoenix house.
802:978-0-7524-4573-1
780:. pp. 72–73.
762:978-0-7524-4573-1
723:Medway watermills
647:, whose fuel was
634:Board of Ordnance
519:Queen Elizabeth I
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31:This article
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831:. Retrieved
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561:Sussex vicar
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433:pays de Bray
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273:Vale of Kent
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40:Please help
35:verification
32:
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1148:.hammerpond
1096:.villagenet
681:in Sussex.
638:ironmasters
619:Restoration
409:water-power
381:radiocarbon
297:Sedlescombe
291:During his
281:Northchapel
269:East Sussex
244:River Teise
1174:Categories
1122:.bushywood
739:References
713:, London.
657:Ashburnham
621:, Wealden
575:ironmaster
557:Ralf Hogge
537:Henry VIII
503:; and for
413:bloomeries
342:bloomeries
240:waterwheel
221:bloomeries
197:Cretaceous
172:made from
68:newspapers
1130:_industry
965:: 71–81.
833:10 August
822:OpenLearn
679:Warbleton
675:Sandhurst
579:Warbleton
541:armaments
523:Brenchley
514:in 1490.
469:Fernhurst
397:Tonbridge
286:Hartfield
249:treadmill
213:coppicing
180:Resources
158:ironstone
98:June 2013
1126:/wealden
1102:/history
717:See also
642:Scottish
623:bar iron
607:bar iron
533:charcoal
471:furnace.
441:smelting
437:Normandy
366:Medieval
301:Hastings
271:and the
209:charcoal
201:smelters
193:siderite
166:charcoal
148:made in
146:bar iron
709:and at
615:Swedish
573:was an
505:casting
485:bellows
479:in the
477:bellows
429:Belgium
393:Tudeley
348:. The
150:England
142:England
82:scholar
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611:London
605:; and
603:cannon
599:London
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512:Buxted
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501:hinges
453:Buxted
372:Saxons
346:Sussex
334:Romans
332:. The
154:cannon
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1128:_iron
1106:.html
703:pence
663:Steel
591:Weald
577:from
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395:near
350:Weald
338:Weald
138:Weald
89:JSTOR
75:books
1200:Iron
1150:.org
1132:.htm
1124:.com
1030:ISBN
1005:ISBN
921:ISBN
879:ISBN
854:ISBN
835:2013
797:ISBN
757:ISBN
699:tons
649:coke
595:iron
499:and
487:and
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967:doi
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