A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



Piece work and specialized employment was the 

 order among the men. The collier was paid 

 2d. a load for burning the charcoal, the blome- 

 smyth received dd. for smelting a blome, the 

 same sum was paid to the faber for working over 

 the iron at the stryngharth, id. z blome was 

 given for cutting the iron into suitable lengths 

 for sale. The output was not great according to 

 modern standards ; but if we consider the primi- 

 tive character of the appliances a weekly produc- 

 tion of 2 tons is considerable. 



The account roll gives a clear picture of a 

 self-sufficing community, working up materials 

 procured in the immediate neighbourhood to 

 supply the wants of the district, the enterprise 

 being in the hands of local men, living on the 

 scene of their labours, for four houses are men- 

 tioned among the building operations undertaken 

 in connexion with the forge, but having under 

 them workmen from the neighbouring county. 



How long Bishop Langley continued the 

 experiment is not recorded, but doubtless the iron 

 obtained from the Durham mines, to which we 

 have frequent reference in the fifteenth century, 

 continued to be worked at local forges' under 

 much the same conditions as at the forge of John 

 Dalton. The fact, however, that in 1473 all 

 the ' conyng iryns ' for the bishop's mint had to 

 be supplied by William Omorighe of York, may 

 point to a lack of competent workers in iron in 

 the Palatinate.' 



Early in the sixteenth century another change 

 was made in the management of the mineral 

 wealth of the Palatinate. A committee consisting 

 of Robert Chambers, chancellor of Durham, 

 William Senoys, clerk, William Lee, and John 

 Rakes"' was appointed, and two years later 

 a surveyor .of mines was added. '^ No change 

 of management made any difference to the 

 prime factor in the retrogression of the iron 

 trade — the scarcity of timber. Elizabeth legislated 

 freely" to prevent further depredations, with 

 the result that, according to Scrivenor, the 

 ironworks in many parts of the country were 

 stopped entirely, and in other parts materially 

 decreased." 



The immediate effect of this legislation was 

 probably to hinder the development of the Durham 

 iron trade ; but the effect was not permanent, for 

 a piteous picture is drawn by A.L. in 1629, in a 

 ' Relation of Some Abuses against the Common- 

 wealth composed especially for the County of 



' Robert Kirkhous, ' irynbrenner,' in 1430 cove- 

 nants to work certain forges, for which the bishop 

 will furnish suitable ground and iron ore at a fixed 

 rate. Dur. Curs. 37, m. 3 d. 



' Dur. Curs. No. 49, m. 6. 



'» Ibid. No. 64, m. 6. 



" Ibid. No. 64, m. 23. 



'■•' I Eliz. cap. 5 ; 23 Eliz. cap. 5:27 Eliz. cap. 19 ; 

 28 Eliz. cap. 3, 5. 



" H. Scrivenor, The Iron Trade, 7. 



Durham,' '* of the reckless destruction of timber 

 for smelting purposes. 



For wee have scarce a Lord or gentleman (entring 

 to his bndes) but the first act wch hee doeth (after 

 hee hath called a Court and inhansed his rentes) is to 

 view his woodes, and if it can appcare that eyther the 

 tymber (for building) the underwoods (for iron or lead 

 workes) or the barke (for tanners) will yeild pre- 

 sent money, then the woodes are the first thing wch 

 come to ruine. ... I have often heard that the 

 Spanyards (for the maintayninge of their iron workes) 

 plant six trees for each one wch they cut downe ; but 

 wee (to mainteyne iron workes, lead workes, tillage 

 &c.) for each tree which wee plant cut downe six 

 hundred (I might sale six thousand, for, in these 

 partes, there is no such thing as planting or springing 

 of woodes heard of) the consideracon whereof makes 

 me thinke that such poore Bachellors as myselfe (wch 

 have neither wives nor children) are happy men ; for 

 to what purpose do men marry wives or beget chil- 

 dren ? or how is it likely or possible that those wch 

 succede us shall live, when wee (ourselves) use all meanes 

 to destroie and waist our countries ? and (which is 

 worse above all comparison than the rest) without all 

 sence of sorrow for the same ! . . . There is one 

 man, whose dwelling place is within twenty miles 

 of the cittye of Durham, which hath brought to the 

 grounde (to omitt all underwoades) above 30,000 

 oakes in his life tyme, and (if hee live longer) it is to 

 be doubted, that hee will not leave as much tymber 

 or other woode in this whole country as will repaire 

 one of our churches if it should fall, his iron andleade 

 workes do so fast consume the same. 



The extraordinary paucity of material concern- 

 ing iron-working during the early Restoration 

 period enhances the value of a bill, dated 1664, 

 in the Mickleton MSS." It is the account of 

 John Hodgshon, who had charge of the bishop's 

 iron furnace ; the locality is not named ; the first 

 item is a charge for repairs of the furnace, 

 amounting to ;^4I "js. ^.d. 



Itm paid by him for the charges of 

 getting Iron Stones and Coales 

 for the blast last Somer and the 

 Founders for casting ye Iron and 

 other charges as 219. 18. 01. 



Sume 261. 05. 05. 



On the opposite page 'The Proffetts' are 



There was cast into rough from last 



somer 43tun. zhund. 2qr. at 5//. 



per tunne comes to 2 1 5. 15. 00. 



So that John Hodgshon was out ot 



puree more then ye rawe Iron was 



worth ye sume of 045. 10. 05. 



but he helps to repay himselfe by his having sold 

 6 tunne and a halfe of rawe Iron at 11/ per Tunne, 

 which was cast into smelting hearthes at ye furnice 

 and 3 Tunne drawn into bans wch will reimburce 

 him about 40// when reed. 



" B.M. Add. MSB. 18 147, fol. 8, 9. 



" Cosin's Lib. Mickleton MSS. Nos. 91, 29. 



280 



