A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



IRON 



There are no direct references to the working 

 of iron in Lancashire previous to the thirteenth 

 century, but in High Furness and the northern 

 parts of Lancashire there are about thirty known 

 sites where iron was smelted in the ancient way 

 with charcoal into blooms — lumps of metal made 

 by blowing in the furnace — whence the name 

 bloomeries. The opinion is now sometimes held 

 that bloomeries were being worked not far from 

 Coniston in Roman and Saxon times, but other 

 authorities think that mediaeval iron working 

 is sufficient to account for the large number of 

 sites. ^ Facts are hidden in obscurity till the 

 thirteenth century, from which time up to 

 the dissolution of the monasteries Furness Abbey 

 was closely associated with the working of iron.' 



The chief original authority concerning the 

 iron industry of Furness in pre-Reformation 

 times is the Coucher Book of Furness Abbey.' 

 The book contains no information, however, 

 either of a direct or inferential character, such 

 as to enable us to arrive at any conclusions as 

 to the extent to which the ironstone was worked 

 by the convent, or as to the fuel used, or as to 

 the source or sources from which fuel was 

 obtained. One characteristic of the bloomeries 

 of this district is that they were always 

 established near flowing water, and in Furness 

 charters we hear of water privileges, the water 

 being ad lavandum, i.e. for washing the ore.* 

 Wt: also know that the convent bestowed on its 

 tenants each year one ton of malleable iron, 

 called livery iron, for repairing their ploughs and 

 farm gear.' 



On 3 Nones of March, 1235, John prior of 

 Cartmel and the convent of that place declare 

 that they make no claim, nor will ever make 

 any claim by reason of any right or ownership, 

 to use the iron mine in Furness [uti mina ferr'i 

 infra Fumes), which they have sometime had by 

 the gift and grace of the abbot and convent of 

 Furness during their pleasure." 



In 1292 a valuation was made, for rateable pur- 

 poses, of the temporalities belonging to Furness 

 Abbey, in which the value of the mineria ferri 

 deductis necessariis et expensis is given as £6 1 31. ^.d., 

 which greatly exceeds any other receipts of the 

 abbey.' Obtaining the relation between the 



' See H. S. Cowper, HazvksteaJ, Us Hist., Mon., &c. 

 281 et seq. ; and W. G. Collingwood, The And. 

 Iron Works of Coniston Lake (Hist. See. Lane, and 

 Ches.) (New Ser.), xvii, 3. 



' Collingwood, op. cit. 5. 



^ The Coucher Bk. of Furness Abbe-j (ed. J. C. Atkin- 

 son, Chetham See. Remains, New Ser.), Lx, xi, xis. 



' See Atkinson's Introductory Chapter, xi. 



' Ibid. XV. 



' Coucher of Furness, Addit. MSS. 33244, fol. 20. 

 '' Chetham Soe. Remains, xiv, 634. 



value of land and ironworks from a contem- 

 porary document relating to another district, 

 Mr. Atkinson concludes that no fewer than forty 

 furnaces must have been in operation in the 

 district in 1292, in order that their total annual 

 value might equal £6 ly. 4^.* 



The next piece of evidence is the commis- 

 sioners' certificate of 1537. From this we 

 learn that after the dissolution of the monastery, 

 three smithies for the working of iron were let 

 to William Sandes and John Sawrey for a rent 

 of ;^20 per annum.' In 1564 the smithies 

 were abolished by royal decree in consequence of 

 the destruction of the woods. The tenants, 

 however, were permitted to make iron for them- 

 selves, with the loppings and underwood.'" This 

 decree was probably an important factor in lead- 

 ing to the establishment of some of the bloomer- 

 ies in the Rossendale Forest, as it was easier to 

 carry the ore to the place where the charcoal 

 was burnt, than to bring the charcoal to the ore. 

 On the other hand some of the references to 

 iron in this district are as old as those in the 

 Furness district. 



The earliest references to iron in Rossendale 

 occur in the de Lacy compoti of 1296 and 

 1305 and in the great de Lacy inquisition of 

 1311. 



1296. Akerington." £ s. d. 



Brushvifood and ore sold to a 



forge there for 27 weeks . . 114 o 

 1296. Halton." 



Rent of Gilbert the Smith for a 

 plot of waste at the forge, this 

 year being the first ....016 

 1296. Haslendene." 



A forge for iron farmed out in 



Roscyndale 300 



1296. Hoddesdene." 



Old brushwood for a forge for 



1 3 weeks 0130 



1305. Cliderhou." 



A plot for a forge under the 



castle, this year being the first o i o 

 1305. Clivachre." 



Iron ore sold for 10 weeks ..068 

 13 1 1. Pendle. 



The profits of the iron mines 

 old brushwood and charcoal 

 sold in the said forest one 

 year with another ...094 

 For the year 1323-4 the following entry 

 relating to Rossendale has been discovered, 



* Introductory Chapter, xviii. 



" H. S. Cowper, Hist, of Hawkshead, 283. 



'" Ibid. 284. 



" Chetham Soc. Remains, cxii, 12, 123. 



" Ibid. 43, 142. "Ibid. 5, 120. 



" Ibid, no, 182, 



i« 



360 



Ibid. 7, 121. 

 " Ibid. 109, 182 



