To expand and collapse the navigation please click on the headings
Go to other Related Subject areas
Charlcotte Furnace
Charlcotte Furnace stands in the parish of Aston Botterell. It is one of the best-preserved charcoal blast furnaces in the country. Furthermore, a complete set of accounts survive from 1733 to its closure in 1779.
Charlcotte Furnace
The earliest reference to Charlcotte comes from 1712, when it was leased to Richard Knight. It was to remain in the hands of the Knight family for the rest of its working life. It is possible that the furnace was in existence earlier; it has been pointed out that in 1691 Sir Humphrey Briggs leased the ironstone on his portion of the hill to Thomas Lowbridge and James Wilmott of Hartlebury and they might have been earlier lessors of the furnace.
Richard Knight was one of the chief iron masters of the West Midlands. He effectively inherited the empire of the Foley family, who had been pre-eminent in the 17th Century. He and his successors operated Charlcotte in tandem with a furnace and forge at Bringewood, near Ludlow; it supplied large quantities of pig iron to a series of forges on the Stour, especially at Upper and Lower Mitton. Charlcotte was supplied by ironstone mined on the Brown and Titterstone Clee Hills. Charcoal came from around a 10 mile radius, although it was significantly dearer than that used by Bringewood. It produced around 400 tons of iron a year. However, the pattern of output changed markedly throughout the life of the furnace. Up to around 1750 the furnace was in production almost every year and was also profitable. After 1750 it started to make regular losses and frequently seemed to be in blast only every other year. From the 1750s it faced competition from coke-fired blast furnaces, where the problems of producing a form of pig iron suitable for conversion into wrought iron had been solved. The high price it was forced to pay for charcoal also told against it. Its final campaign
Furnace Statistics
The output of Charlcotte and Bringewood furnaces, 1733-1779. Taken from data The Knight family and the British Iron Industry 1685-1902, L. Ince, Ferric Publications, 1991, Pg 85-6.
This compares the output of Charlcotte and Bringwood furnaces. The output of Charcotte became increasing eratic in the second half of the 18th Century
A comparison of the output of iron at Charlcotte (in tons) with the delivery of iron ore (in dozens).
Iron ore was traditionally measured in "loads" and "dozens". A load was effectively the amount of iron that could fit into the panier of a packhorse; twelve loads made a dozen. Something 2.25 loads were needed to produce a ton of pig iron. Ore was sometimes stockpiled at the furnace.
A comparison of the output of Charlcotte furnace with its profit/loss, 1733-1777. Data taken fron The Knight family and the British Iron Industry 1685-1902, L. Ince, Ferric Publications, 1991, Pg 85-6.
In the first half of the 18th Century, Charlcotte was very profitable. However, after 1750 it frequently made a loss, even in years when there was a good output.