Iron Making in the Olden Times Part 5

"_Water Troughs_--scooped out of the solid timber. This shows the great simplicity of these times, not 150 years ago.

"_The Hutch_, or as it is now corruptly called the Witch, a wide covered drain below the furnace-wheel to carry off the water from it, usually arched, but here only covered with timbers to support the rubbish and earth thrown upon it.

"_Cambs_ are iron cogs fixed in the shaft to work the bellows as the wheel turns round.

"_Cinder Shovels_, iron shovels for taking up the cinders into the boxes, both to measure them and to fill the furnace.

"_Moulding s.h.i.+p_, an iron tool fixed on a wooden handle, so formed as to make the gutters in the sand for casting the pig and sow iron.

"_Casting Ladles_, made hollow like a dish, with a lip to lade up the liquid iron for small castings.

"_Wringers_, large long bars of iron to wring the furnace, that is to clear it of the grosser and least fluid cinder which rises on the upper surface, and would there coagulate and soon prevent the furnace from working aright.

"_Constable_, a bar of very great substance and length, kept always lying by a furnace in readiness for extraordinary purposes in which uncommon strength and purchase was required. I suppose this name to have been given to this tool on account of its superior bulk and power, and in allusion to the Constable of St. Briavel's Castle, an officer heretofore of very great weight and consequence in this forest.

"_Cinder Hook_, a hook of iron for drawing away the scruff or cinder which runs liquid out of the furnace over the dam plate, and soon becomes a solid substance, which must be removed to make room for fresh cinder to run out into its place.

"_Plackett_, a tool contrived as a kind of trowel for smoothing and shaping the clay.

"_Buckstones_, now called Buckstaves, are two thick plates of iron, about 5 or 6 feet long, fixed one on each side of the front of the furnace down to the ground to support the stone work.

"_Iron Tempe_ is a plate fixed at the bottom of the front wall of the furnace over the flame between the buckstaves.

"_Tuiron Plate_ is a plate of cast iron fixed before the noses of the bellows, and so shaped as to conduct the blast into the body of the furnace.

"_Tuiron Hooke_, a tool contrived for conveying a lump of tempered clay before the point of the tuiron plate, to guard the wall from wearing away as it would otherwise do in that part, there being the greatest force of the fire.

"_Shammel Plate_, a piece of cast iron fixed on a wooden frame, in the shape of a [Picture: Symbol], which works up and down as a crank, so as for the camb to lay hold of this iron, and thereby press down the bellows.

"_Firketts_ are large square pieces of timber laid upon the upper woods of the bellows, to steady it and to work it.

"_Firkett Hooks_, two strong hooks of square wrought iron fixed at the smallest end of the bellows to keep it firm and in its place.

"_Gage_, two rods of iron jointed in the middle, with a ring for the filler to drop the shortest end into the furnace at the top, to know when it is worked down low enough to be charged.

"_Poises_, wooden beams, one over each bellows, fixed upon centres across another very large beam; at the longest end of these poises are open boxes bound with iron, and the little end being fixed with harness to the upper ends of the firketts are thus pressed down, and the bellows with it, by the working of the wheel, while the weight of the poises lifts them up alternately as the wheel goes round."

As to the length of time these works continued in operation, the late Mr.

Mushet, who knew the district intimately, in his valuable papers on iron, &c., considered that they were abandoned shortly after the date of the inventory, _i.e._ 1635, since, "with the exception of the slags, traces of the water-mounds, and the faint lines of the water-courses, not a vestige of any of them remains."

He adds,--

"About fourteen years ago I first saw the ruins of one of these furnaces, situated below York Lodge, and surrounded by a large heap of slag or scoria that is produced in making pig iron. As the situation of this furnace was remote from roads, and must at one time have been deemed nearly inaccessible, it had all the appearance at the time of my survey of having remained in the same state for nearly two centuries. The quant.i.ty of slags I computed at from 8000 to 10,000 tons. If it is a.s.sumed that this furnace made upon an average annually 200 tons of pig iron, and that the quant.i.ty of slag run from the furnace was equal to one-half the quant.i.ty of iron made, we shall have 100 tons of cinders annually, for a period of from 80 to 100 years. If the abandonment of this furnace took place about the year 1640, the commencement of its smeltings must be a.s.signed to a period between the years 1540 and 1560."

The oldest piece of cast iron which Mr. Mushet states he ever saw, exhibited the arms of England, with the initials E. R., and bore date 1555 (?), but he found no specimen in the Forest earlier than 1620. A few cast-iron fire-backs have been noticed in some of the old houses in the vicinity of the Forest, but none have an earlier date on them. The cast-iron grave-slabs found in the ancient iron-making districts of Surrey and Suss.e.x do not occur here. He also observes that "although he had carefully examined every spot and relic in Dean Forest likely to denote the site of Dud Dudley's enterprising but unfortunate experiment of making pig-iron with pit-coal," no remains had been found. It was the same with the like operations of Cromwell, Major Wildman, Captain Birch, and other of his officers, doctors of physic and merchants, by whom works and furnaces had been set up in the Forest at a vast charge.

The troubles of the civil wars, in which the country surrounding the Forest was so much involved, materially disturbed its iron manufactures.

Sir John Winter's large works at Lydney were wholly destroyed, and probably such others as continued in operation were limited to the casting of cannon and shot, similar to what was used in the siege of Goodrich Castle by Colonel Birch in 1646. Otherwise iron making was for the time suppressed.

When matters had become somewhat settled, the attention of the Commonwealth was directed to them. They were placed under the general supervision of Major John Wade, who was a.s.sisted in their management by John a Deane.

A doc.u.ment exists giving a debtor and creditor account from 13th September, 1653, to 20th August, 1655. {42a} During these two years, upwards of 12,607 pounds 16s. 9.75d. was laid out by the Council of State and the Commissariat of the Admiralty, whilst only 10,705 pounds 14s. 3d.

was received, leaving a deficit of 1902 pounds 2s. 6.75d.

Another paper states "what iron in pigs, barr, and shott have beene cast and made, sold, or otherwise disposed of, or remaining in stock," between 28th February, 1653, and 2nd August, 1656.

There remains also "a true inventory of all the tooles and utensils belonging to the forge at Whitecroft, this 13th August, 1656," divided into "all the chaffery, for the upper finery, for the lower finery."

John a Deane died in 1655, and was succeeded by Mr. John Roades. {42b} From 2nd August, 1656, to 15th September, 1657, the Government account stood thus

pounds s. d.

Dr. side 10,135 15 10.75 Cr. 8,023 15 3.25 Balance 2,112 0 7.5

Hardly had the king's return been effected when, amidst the innumerable pet.i.tions which instantly greeted him, is one from Sir Hugh Middleton, Bart., for "the place of Overseer and Receiver of Profits of His Majestie's Iron Works in the Forest of Dean." {42c} He strengthened his application with the timely remark that the appointment for which he sought was held by Major John Wade, "put in by Cromwell; an officer of which Wade, in July last (1659), robbed him of horses, arms, &c., kept him four months in close imprisonment for adhering to His Maty, & has several times ransacked his house."

A contemporary pet.i.tion, to much the same end, but from a different quarter, was presented by Sir Edward Ma.s.sey. He stated, truly enough, that "he had formerly held the works for which he now applied, but they and all his stock were taken from him by the Rump Parliament for his loyalty." But he suppressed saying, how they were formerly voted to him by the House of Commons for defeating the staunch royalist Sir John Winter, to whom they previously belonged.

Sir John, himself, was a third, and reasonable applicant for the restoration of his patent for the same, which was as justly restored him; the other, but unsuccessful candidate, being Sir Baynham Throckmorton.

In an elaborate return, {43} addressed to the Barons of the Exchequer, and dated the 12th April, 1662, the question is mooted, "What advantages will yearly accrue to His Maty by his furnace and forge, if taken into his owne hands?" The answer is worked out in the following manner:--

"Imprimis.--Fower Long Coards of Wood will make two Loads of Coles wch two Loads of Coales will make one Tunne of Sowe Iron.

"Charges to make a Tunn of Sow Iron.

_li._ _s._ _d._ For cutting and 00 14 00 coarding of Four Long Coards genrlly will cost For Coaleing at 00 07 00 3s 6d per loade For carrying it 00 07 00 to the Furnace, genrlly For Mine and 00 05 00 Oar For Cinders 00 03 00 To the Founder 00 02 06 or Caster 01 18 06

"Price of a Tun of Sow Iron.

"Which Tune of Sow Iron will yield coib annis, although now debased by the late mispending of the Stock, but wil bee brought up agn to 6li 10.

"What Quant.i.ty the Furnace will cast yearly.

"The Furnace may wth the Expence of 100li to pr serve & pcure a greater ppcon of water, cast Were Thirty Tunn p weeke, but to reduce it to a greater certainty we will compute at 26 Tunne p weeke, wch at 6li 10s 6d p Tunn amounts to 1248 Tunn p An., wch at 6li 10s Od p Tunn amounts to 8112li. But the Charges to be deducted at 1li 18s 6d p Tunn amounts to 2402li 8s deducting wch out of the generall pfitt there remains 709li 12s Od.

"Other Charges to be deducted and alowed out of the Furnace profits.

_li._ _s._ _d._ To a Stock 16 00 00 Taker p An.

To a Clerk 40 00 00 To a Carpinter 6 13 04 Other Reprs of 12 00 00 the Furnace (coib annis) For travelling 05 00 00 Charges to the Clerk to sell iron To two Wood 20 00 00 Clerks p An.

And for Sacks 20 00 00 and Hurdles p An.

Totall 119 13 04

"Charges of Product of the Forge.