| Cinderford Ironworks | |
|---|---|
 c1890. Cinderford Ironworks | |
| Location | Gloucestershire, England, UK |
| Coordinates | 51°48′49″N2°30′31″W / 51.813727°N 2.508579°W Coordinates: 51°48′49″N2°30′31″W / 51.813727°N 2.508579°W |
| OS grid reference | SO 65036 12910 |
  Location in Gloucestershire | |
Cinderford Ironworks, also known as Cinderford Furnace, was a coke-fired blast furnace, built in 1795, just west of Cinderford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England.
The Forest of Dean, with its huge iron-ore reserves and ready supply of timber, had been an area of national importance in the production of iron, using charcoal, for hundreds of years. [1] Even the name Cinderford is thought to have derived from the term sinders meaning clinker, that was left behind by early Roman ironworks (ford probably refers to the crossing over the Cinderford Brook). [2] The first coke-fired blast furnace was constructed in 1709 at Coalbrookdale, in Shropshire. However, despite there also being extensive coal measures in the Forest of Dean, local coal did not produce coke that was ideal for smelting and the ironmasters were reluctant to invest in the new technology. It was not until the last decade of the 18th century that coke-fired furnaces began to make an appearance, with Cinderford, Whitecliff and Parkend Ironworks being built almost simultaneously. [3]
Work began on the ironworks in ; it was the first coke-fired blast furnace to be built in the Forest of Dean and probably came into blast in 1797, or possibly as late as 1798. [4] It was built principally at the instigation of Thomas Teague, [5] although it is unknown who the financial backers were. [6] Coal was brought in by boat, along the Cinderford Canal from Broadmoor, just to the north. Iron-ore was brought in by mule, from Edge Hill and other mines. [7]
It was working in 1806, but like Parkend Ironworks, probably ceased production around 1807. The reasons are not certain, but output had not reached 20 tons a week, [8] which was exceptionally low. The difficulties may have been due to poor technical expertise, the unsuitability of the local coke, or perhaps both.
Around 1820, Moses Teague, working at Darkhill Ironworks, discovered a way to make good iron from local coke. To exploit his discovery he re-opened Parkend Ironworks in 1824 [9] and Cinderford Ironworks in 1829.
Activity ceased again in 1832, during an economic slump, but resumed in 1835 with financial help from William Crawshay, a Welsh ironmaster, of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil. The Ironworks prospered for the next forty years; A second furnace was added around 1835 and in 1841 there were three furnaces producing 12,000 tons of iron a year. A fourth furnace was added sometime before 1855. Crawshay's son Henry, who ran the works from 1847, bought out the only other partner, Stephen Allaway, in 1862.
By the late 1870s, however, the iron trade went into recession and only two furnaces were in production at that time. Two new furnaces were built in 1880, but by 1890 only one was in blast. Cinderford Ironworks closed in 1894 and demolition was completed by 1901. [10] [11]
Today, very little remains are visible above ground.
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.
Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England, which had a population of 8,494 at the 2011 census.
Parkend is a village, located at the foot of the Cannop Valley, in the Royal Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire, England, and has a history dating back to the early 17th century. During the 19th century it was a busy industrial village with several coal mines, an ironworks, stoneworks, timber-yard and a tinplate works, but by the early 20th century most had succumbed to a loss of markets and the general industrial decline. In more recent times, the village has become a tourist destination.
Coleford is a market town in the west of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, two miles (3 km) east of the Welsh border and close to the Wye Valley. It is the administrative centre of the Forest of Dean district. The combined population of the town's two electoral wards at the 2011 census was 8,359. It was estimated to be 9,130 in 2019. The parish includes the village of Baker's Hill.
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge.
The Wealden iron industry was located in the Weald of south-eastern England. It was formerly an important industry, producing a large proportion of the bar iron made in England in the 16th century and most British cannon until about 1770. Ironmaking in the Weald used ironstone from various clay beds, and was fuelled by charcoal made from trees in the heavily wooded landscape. The industry in the Weald declined when ironmaking began to be fuelled by coke made from coal, which does not occur accessibly in the area.
An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ironworks is ironworks.
The Cyfarthfa Ironworks were major 18th- and 19th-century ironworks in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South West Wales.
Seend Ironstone Quarry and Road Cutting is a 3 acres (1.2 ha) Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Seend in Wiltshire, England, notified in 1965. The site contains facies of Lower Greensand containing specimens of fauna not found elsewhere.
Cornwall Iron Furnace is a designated National Historic Landmark that is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in Cornwall, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The furnace was a leading Pennsylvania iron producer from 1742 until it was shut down in 1883. The furnaces, support buildings and surrounding community have been preserved as a historical site and museum, providing a glimpse into Lebanon County's industrial past. The site is the only intact charcoal-burning iron blast furnace in its original plantation in the western hemisphere. Established by Peter Grubb in 1742, Cornwall Furnace was operated during the Revolution by his sons Curtis and Peter Jr. who were major arms providers to George Washington. Robert Coleman acquired Cornwall Furnace after the Revolution and became Pennsylvania's first millionaire. Ownership of the furnace and its surroundings was transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1932.
Robert Forester Mushet was a British metallurgist and businessman, born on 8 April 1811, in Coleford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. He was the youngest son of Scottish parents, Agnes Wilson and David Mushet; an ironmaster, formerly of the Clyde, Alfreton and Whitecliff Ironworks.
Crawshay Bailey was an English industrialist who became one of the great iron-masters of Wales.
Bringewood Ironworks was a charcoal ironworks in north Herefordshire. It was powered by the river Teme, with a blast furnace, a finery forge and latterly a rolling mill for blackplate.
The Cinderford Canal was a private canal, opened in about 1797, in Gloucestershire, England, which was used to provide coke and water to Cinderford Ironworks.
David Mushet was a Scottish engineer, known for his inventions in the field of metallurgy. Mushet was an early advocate of animal rights.
The firm of Harrison Ainslie & Co. was a British firm of ironmasters and iron ore merchants, selling high quality haematite from their mines on Lindal Moor to smelters in Glasgow, Scotland, South Wales and the Midlands. From a 21st-century perspective, they are more interesting as the last operators of charcoal-fired blast furnaces in Great Britain. Their furnaces were stone-built, water-powered, and much smaller than the coke-fired furnaces of the same era.
Darkhill Ironworks, and the neighbouring Titanic Steelworks, are internationally important industrial remains associated with the development of the iron and steel industries. Both are scheduled monuments. They are located on the edge of a small hamlet called Gorsty Knoll, just to the west of Parkend, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Historically, Darkhill was sometimes written Dark Hill.
Whitecliff Ironworks, sometimes referred to as Whitecliff Furnace, at Coleford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, are industrial remains associated with the production of iron, using coke, in the Forest of Dean.
Parkend Ironworks, also known as Parkend Furnace, in the village of Parkend, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, was a coke-fired furnace built in 1799. Most of the works were demolished between 1890 and 1908, but the engine house survived and is arguably the best preserved example of its kind to be found in the United Kingdom.
The Forest of Dean Coalfield, underlying the Forest of Dean, in west Gloucestershire, is one of the smaller coalfields in the British Isles, although intensive mining during the 19th and 20th centuries has had enormous influence on the landscape, history, culture, and economy of the area.