INDUSTRIES 



A good workman can turn out 600 hoops 

 a day, and even as many as 750 have been 

 made. In 1871 coopers and hoop-makers to- 

 gether numbered 368 persons, which number 

 had fallen in 1901 to 284. It is probable that 

 there has been a further considerable decrease 

 during the last five years, as there appear to be 

 now only ten firms of hoop-makers and twelve 

 of coopers. 



At the end of the wood industries may be put 

 the burning of CHARCOAL. As charcoal was the 

 most used fuel of the mediaeval period it is natural 

 that references to its manufacture in the wooded 

 county of Sussex should be not uncommon. The 

 sheriff was frequently required to supply large 

 quantities of charcoal for the needs of the army 

 or royal household, as for instance in 1307, when 

 he was ordered to have 200 quarters of charcoal 

 made and sent to Boulogne. 138 On the other 

 hand in 1290 orders were given to prevent the 

 export of charcoal from Sussex. 139 One of the 

 chief places of export seems to have been 

 Winchelsea, at which town much charcoal was 

 made, to the danger of the shipping, so that in 

 1355 an order was issued that in future it should 

 only be burnt at ' le Sloghdam,' within the 

 port of Winchelsea. 140 The poll tax of 1380 

 mentions a ' factor carbonis ' at Worth and a 

 ' carbonator ' at Lindfield, 141 while documents 

 relating to the woodlands of the Weald afford 

 numerous instances of ' colliers,' more especially 

 during the most flourishing period of the iron 

 industry, for which enormous quantities of 

 charcoal were annually required. The demands 

 of the iron furnaces not only threatened the 

 existence of large tracts of woodland, but naturally 

 sent up the price of charcoal, so that in 1580 the 

 inhabitants of Brighton complained that charcoal 

 had risen from 6s. StJ. a load to I4J. 143 A further 

 stimulus was given to the trade at the expense of 

 the county by the latter being required to send 

 supplies to ' his Majesty's collehouse in White- 

 hall' ; the amount at first demanded in 1605 

 being 400 loads, subsequently reduced to 240. 143 

 For these supplies the government appears to 

 have paid the value, probably at a rather low 

 estimate, of the material, leaving the county to 

 discharge the cost of carriage ; so that in 1628, 

 when 250 loads were required, payment was 

 made at 13*. <)d. the load, the justices contracting 

 with William Flood to supply the same at 22*. 

 the load. 144 As the iron industry died out in 

 Sussex, and pit coal began to come into general 

 use, charcoal-burning began to lose its importance, 

 though fresh sources of demand were found in 

 the increasing cultivation of hops, for the drying 



138 Close, i Edw. II, m. 1 6. 



139 Ibid. 1 8 Edw. I, m. 14. 



140 Cooper, Hist, of Winchelsea, 1 20. 



141 Lay Subs. iff-. m Suss. Arch. Coll. ii, 5 1. 

 " s Add. MS. 5702, fol. 235-43. 



*" Suss. 4rch. Coll. xl, 32. 



of which charcoal was used, and in the manu- 

 facture of gunpowder. For the latter purpose 

 alder and dogwood were used almost exclusively. 

 'The gunpowder wood is invariably peeled, 

 being left standing until the bark will run ; and 

 is charred with peculiar care.' l43 The ordinary 

 method of burning, however carefully done, prov- 

 ing unsatisfactory, the government about 1800 

 set up a special manufactory at North Chapel to 

 supply the ordnance powder mills at Waltham 

 and Faversham. The process here used con- 

 sisted in charring the wood in closed cylinders. 



The cylinder room is 60 feet in length ; . . . 

 three sets of iron cylinders are placed in a bed of 

 brickwork built nearly along the centre of the house ; 

 each of them contains three cylinders, each being 

 6 ft. long and 2 ft. diameter. To prevent every 

 possibility of air being admitted, iron stops are con- 

 trived, 1 8 in. in length and the size of the inner 

 circumference of the cylinder, which are placed in 

 the mouth, and are filled and rammed down with 

 sand ; besides which sand-doors are made to project 

 obliquely over the front or opening of the cylinder, 

 and are entirely filled with sand, and the stops covered 

 with it. At the back of the building are copper 

 pipes projecting 7 ft. in length, communicating with 

 the far end of the cylinder, and at the other extremity 

 immersed in half-hogshead barrels. These pipes serve 

 to draw off the steam or liquid, which flows in large 

 quantities into the tar barrels during the process of 

 charring. 140 



These cylinders were charged with wood cut 

 into pieces from 3 to 4 in. long from which 

 the knots had been removed, the larger pieces 

 being put in the centre, the whole closed with 

 the iron stop and sand, and fires of pit coal 

 lighted and kept burning brightly until the tar 

 ceased to flow, when the fires were allowed to die 

 down ; next morning the charcoal was removed 

 into large tin coolers and the cylinders recharged. 

 The daily consumption of the three sets of 

 cylinders was 15 cwt. of wood, yielding 4 cwt. 

 of charcoal. 147 With the invention of more 

 powerful varieties of explosives the need of this 

 manufactory of charcoal ceased, and it was closed 

 down about 1831. 



The earliest reference to the making of GUN- 

 POWDER in Sussex appears to be an entry made 

 in 1448 in the town accounts of Rye : 



P d . the maker of pellet powder (pu/veris librillaruni) 

 for the old gonnys, for his labour y. P d . for a quart 

 of vinegar to test the saltpetre \\d. P d . John Bayle 

 for making a little sack of sheep's leather to carry 

 sulphur and saltpetre for the pellet powder which the 

 Lord Chamberlain gave 6J. P d . John Bayle for a 

 strainer through which the charcoal was sifted or 

 cleansed for the pellet powder. 145 



This, however, is merely an incidental refer- 

 ence ; the regular manufacture of gunpowder 



145 Marshall, Rural Economy of the Southern Counties, 

 129. 



147 Ibid. 432-5. 



46 Young, op. cit. 433. 

 14i Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. v, 490^. 



237 



