The Forest of Dean: An Historical and Descriptive Account Part 22

"_Parke Furnace_.--The stone body thereof 22 foote square in the Front, 2 broken sowes, one taken thence, 2 sowes in the Wall.

"Repaired 4 years since by the Farmers, viz., the backe wall from the foundation to the top, and parte of the wall over the Bellows, 40lb it cost.

"The Water Wheele 22ft heigh, wth a Shaft whereon 7 whops, 2 Gudgions and 2 bra.s.ses, built about the same tyme, in repaire, valued at 20lb. The Furnace Howse tiled, built with stone wall 9 foot heigh, 22 foote square, the Roof good, built about the same tyme, in repair, saving a Lace by the Bridge. The stone worke valued at 10lb. The Carpenter's worke one the roofe at 20s, the tilinge valued at 6lb 13s 4d.

"A Pent house under the Furnace, 10s.

"The Bridge House 42ft longe, 22ft broad, the said walles 8.5 foot, covered with boards, double bottomed with plancke, upon stronge sleepers, valued at 40lb.

"Fence Walls all built by the Farmers about 4 yeares since.

"100 Foote of trowes made of square timber, hollowed and covered with plancke, valued at 10lb, made by the Farmers.

"Another Water course, built with stone one both sides and covered wth planckes 2.5 foot broad, 46 foot, in repaire, 5lb.

"An Iron cast grate one the same watercourse.

"A watercourse of half a mile one the North of the Furnace, at the head thereof a dam and a small breach, wants soweringe, otherwise good, cutt by the Farmers, and cost them 20lb, and will cost 3lb.

"A Water course of above .5 mile to the South, made before their tyme.

"The Hutch built with stone and covered with plankes of 6 foot heigh, 3 foot broad, 70ft, saving about 11 foot at the vent which is timber, repaired by the Farmers, in repaire, but the Courant stopt below with cinders, 13lb 6s 8d; the cutting of a newe will cost 8lb.

"The Fownder's howse built before the Farmers' tyme.

"A Cottage adjoininge.

"A Cabbyne for the bridge-server, covered with boards, built by them about a yeare since, 3 tonns, 18ft longe, 11 broad, valued at 5lb.

"A Cabbyne adjoining to the Furnace for the Furnace Keeper, about a Tonn, built by the Farmers, and valued at 2lb.

"A Faire Howse, the ends stone built, the rest with Timber 50 foot longe, 16 broad; in it is a crosse building stories heigh, in repaire, tiled, built before the Farmers now granted, with 2 stables belonging, of tymber.

"A smale cottage, now William Wayt's.

"A myne kilne, the inside in decay, the piggs of iron taken out of the draught thereof, the repaire will cost 2lb.

"Tymber in doeinge of } the saied worke .. } 150 Tonnes, worth VIS VIIID the tonne.

"_Implemnts_.--1 pr bellowes open with the furniture of iron thereto belonging, defective in the lethers, valued at 13lb 6s 8d, the repaire will cost 10lb.; 2 buckstaves, 1 dam-plate, 2 sinder plats, 1 tuiron plate, 1 plackett, 1 gadge, 1 tuiron hoocke, 1 dam hoocke or stopinge hoocke, 4 iron shovells, 9 ringers, 6 cole baskets, 2 wheel barrows, 2 myne hammers, 1 coale rake, 2 cinder raks, 1 great sledge, 1 ringer hammer, 1 constable, 1 shammell plate, 6 iron cambs.

"A beame with scales, hoocks, triangles, and lincks, with about .5 a ton of rawe iron for a wt, in repaire; 1 sowe of iron of 16cwt. which was in the front wall, soe now lyes before the doore, 5lb.

"1 Grindstone, 2 bellowe boards, never used, and 4 old ones, 1lb 10s.

"Collyers' Hurdles.

"The tymber ymployed about the said worke estimated at 140 tonns, and valued at 8s the tonn, 56lb.

"The Repaire of the body of the furnace and the buildings, beames thereto belonginge, and other defects, to make it fit to blowe, estimated at 60lb.

"_Parkend Forge_--consistinge of 2 hamers, 3 Fyneryes, and 1 chaffery, repayered about 2 years since by the Farmers, viz., 2 newe drome beames, 2 great hamers, shafts with wheeles and armes all newe, the body of the forge repaired in sundry places, one of the fyneryes built newe with the whole and shafts.

"The harmes to the great hamers newe and in repaire, valued at 12lb.

"One other finerye chimney, made within the yeare, 5lb, 3 newe trowes through the bay, 26ft longe a piece, covered with planke one the west side, 13lb 6s 8d.

"The hamer hutch one the west side, heigh and broad one the one side, plancked in the bottome ranges of tymber with spreaders conteyninge 150 foote in length, 40lb.

"The chaffery wheele in the west side, old and decayed, 3lb to repaire it.

"One longe trowe one the est side leadinge the watter to the fynerye, 66 foote longe, 6lb 13s 4d; another great trowe with a penstocke, 32 foote, cost 3lb 6s 8d; 1 great penstocke in the hamer trowe, 14 foot longe, 2 foote square, 40s.

"2 Water p.r.i.c.ke Posts with his laces, 4lb.

"The Hamer Hutch one the west side, 4 foote square, bottoms and sides with plancks, 2 ranges of timber 150 foote longe, 10lb.

"The bodye of one Fynerye wheele all newe, made within 2 yeares last past by the Farmers.

"One little house for the carpenter to work in one the bay.

"Two ranges of tymber worke in the lower side of the bay, consistinge of sils, laces, and posts, built by the Farmers within 2 yeares, 120 foote, 12 heigh, 80lb.

"The front of the bay where the water is led to the west side and drawinge gates built about 2 years since. Stone walls on each side, 5lb.

"A flowd gate with 6 sluices, strongly tymbered, built with stronge wall one either side thereof, 160 foote longe, 3ft heigh, 3 foot thicke, ap.r.o.ned and plancked on the top for a bridge 3 years since, 44 foot longe, 22ft broad, 50lb.

The same careful investigator (Mr. Wyrrall) of every particular relating to the iron-works of the Forest formed a glossary of the terms used in the above specifications, which not only sufficiently explains them, but also shows that very similar apparatus continued to be used in this neighbourhood up to the close of the last century. It proceeds thus:--

"_Sows of Iron_ are the long pieces of cast iron as they run into the sand immediately from the furnace; thus called from the appearance of this and the shorter pieces which are runned into smaller gutters made in the same sand, from the resemblance they have to a sow lying on her side with her pigs at her dugs. These are for working up in the forges; but it is usual to cast other sows of iron of very great size to lay in the walls of the furnaces as beams to support the great strain of the work.

"_Dam Plate_ is a large flat plate of cast iron placed on its edge against the front of the furnace, with a stone cut sloping and placed on the inside. This plate has a notch on the top for the cinder or scruff to run off, and a place at the side to discharge the metal at casting.

"_The Shaft_ of a wheel is a large round beam having the wheel fixed near the one end of it, and turning upon gudgeons or centres fixed in the two ends.

"_The Furnace House_ I take to be what we call the casting house, where the metal runs out of the furnace into the sand.

"_The Bridge_ is the place where the raw materials are laid down ready to be thrown into the furnace. I conceive that it had its name (which is still continued) from this circ.u.mstance--that in the infancy of these works it was built as a bridge, hollow underneath. It was not at first known what strength was required to support the blast of a furnace bellows; and the consequence was that they were often out of repair, and frequently obliged to be built almost entirely new.

"_Bellows Boards_--not very different from the present dimensions.

"_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.