Page images
PDF
EPUB

CHAP. 2. List of Lead

Mines.

Crash-purse, in Yolgrave, in 1st lime, lead, an Hydraulic-pressure engine Crich-Cliff, NW of Crich, in 1st lime, lead, yellow transparent fluor, clay wayboards Crichman Pipe, on Masson hill, in Matlock, in 2nd lime, lead

Crooked Rake, in Crich, in 1st lime, lead Cross Flat-work, in Middleton by Yolgrave, in 1st lime, lead

Crosslow Rake, in Foolow, near Eyam, in 1st lime, lead, a large cavern

Cross-o'-th' dale-head, in Great Longsdon, in 1st and 2nd lime, lead

Cross-Rake, on Matlock High Tor, in 1st and 2nd lime, lead, calamine

Cumberland (or Rutland mine) at Matlock bath, in 2nd lime, lead, calamine, some copper, and carbonate of iron, capillary gypsum, clay wayboards, a cavern, roof fallen Cursed-moor, near Aldwark, N of Brassington, in 4th lime, lead, white ore

Daily-bread, in Chelmorton, in 3rd lime, lead Dale, in Over Haddon, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead, ore in toadstone

Dale-top, in Wirksworth, in 3rd lime, lead, gravel

Deep Rake, in Foolow, near Eyam, in 1st lime, lead

Deep Rake, in Hassop and Great Longsdon, in 1st lime, lead, white ore

Dimple, at Matlock bank, in Matlock, in shale and 1st lime, lead, pyrites, fluor, curious crystals, the only mine steam-engine going in 1809, in Derbyshire

Dimsdale, in Calke, adjoining Leicestershire, in yellow limestone, lead, black jack

Dirtlow, SE of Castleton, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead, ore in toadstone Dog-hole. See Bondog-hole

Gorsey-dale, near Bright-gate, in Bonsal, in 3rd lime, lead, two chance toadstone beds Granby shaft, at Matlock bank, in Matlock, in

shale and 1st lime, a trial Great-Pits. See Gang

Green-linnet, W of Brassington, in 4th lime, lead, green ore, china clay

Greenswerd (or Green-swarth) rake, in Ashford, 1 m. NE of Monyash, in 1st lime, lead, clay wayboards

Greenway-field, in Cromford, in 1st lime, lead, calamine

Gregory, at Overton, in Ashover, in 1st grit, shale, and 1st lime, much lead, antimoniated lead ore, ore in shale, two ribs of ore of different kinds, transparent fluor with silvery pyrites, large crystals of calc. Spar, slickensides, bitumen in 1st lime; a shaft 300 yards deep! a large hillock

Grey-mare, in Wirksworth, in shale and 1st lime, lead

Hading-vein, in Cromford, in 1st lime, lead, hades S 14 in 1

Hagues Groove, in Callenge-low, near Monyash, in Yolgrave, in 1st lime, lead, a crooked rake Hang-worm, near Bright-gate, in Bonsal, in 3rd and 4th lime, lead

Hard Rake, in Crich, in 1st lime, lead

Hard Rake, in Sheldon, in 1st lime, lead, calamine

Hare-dale. See Mockshaw

Have-at-all, in Great Hucklow, in shale and 1st lime, lead, a fault through it

Hay-cliff, (or High-cliff) at Bretton, in Eyam, in shale and 1st lime, much lead, slickensides Hazlehurst, in Crich, in 1st lime, lead Hedge Rake, NW of Tideswell, in — lime, lead

Hell Rake, in Bradwell, in 3rd lime, lead

Dog Rake, in Calver, near Hassop, in shale and High-field, in Stoney Middleton, in 1st lime

1st lime, lead, white ore

Dover-Gang. See Gang

Dovestone-Leys, in Cromford, in 1st lime, lead,

calamine

Drake. See Lime-kilns

Dream. See Stafford's Dream

Dunshole, in Stanton in the Peak, in 1st lime, lead, pyrites

Earl of Mar, on Middleton intake, near Wirksworth, in 3rd and 4th lime, lead, hades, intersects a fault, clay wayboards Edge-side Rake, in Foolow, in Ist lime, lead Eyam-edge, near Great Hucklow, in Eyam, in shale and 1st lime, lead

Fall-hill, at Mill-town, in Ashover, in 1st lime, lead, large cubic fluor, quartz crystals Field-side, S of Tideswell, in 3rd lime, lead, a fault through it

Field Rake, in Sheldon, in 1st lime, lead, very wide in spar

Fiery-dragon, in Bonsal, in 3rd lime, lead, ore in chert, white chert

Fore-side Rake, or faucet, in Castleton, in 4th lime, lead, Devil's-hall cavern Fox-hole, S of Wirksworth, in 1st lime, lead, calamine

Gang, or Dover-gang, Godber, Goodluck, and Great-pits, in Cromford and Middleton by Wirksworth, in shale and 1st and 2nd lime, much lead, ore in shale and in toadstone, pyrites, black jack, large cubes of fluor, wide, hard spar, petroleum in lime geodes in shale, hades both S and N, squinted, slickensides, deep, large hillocks, a hot spring in 2nd lime, water-wheels in the sough under ground Gentlewoman's Pipe, near Matlock bridge, in 1st lime, lead

Glade Rake, SW of Ashford, in 1st lime, lead
Godber, or Goodbehere. See Gang
Golconda Pipc, in Griffe, near Hopton and
Brassington, in 4th lime, lead, immense

caverns

Goodluck, in Cromford. See Gang Goodluck (Burdet's) NE of Wirksworth, in 1st lime, lead, horse-gin pumps

and toadstone, lead

High-low Pipe, in Monyash, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead

High Rake, in Tideswell, in 3rd lime and toadstone, lead, ore in toadstone High-tor Rake, near Starkholmes, in Matlock, in shale and 1st lime, lead, yellow ochre Hills Rake, at Windmill-houses, near Great Hucklow, in 1st and 3rd lime, lead, yellow ochre, the great limestone fault crosses it Hill-top, S of Middleton by Wirksworth, in 3rd and 4th lime, lead, gravel, squinted N, deep, large hillocks

Holley-hole, in Wirksworth, in shale and 1st lime, lead

Horse-steads, in Taddington, in 2nd and 3rd limes and toadstones, lead

Hubberdale Pipe, in Monyash and Sheldon, in 1st lime, much lead, white ore, barytes Hucklow-edge, in Great Hucklow, in shale and 1st lime, much lead, a fault through part of it, large hillocks

Jackson's, in Middleton by Wirksworth, in shale and 1st lime, lead, crossed by a fault at W end

Jowl-groove, in Peak forest, in 4th lime, lead Knowle's, on Masson hill, in Matlock, in 2nd lime, lead, fluor spar, large caverns Lady-gate, near Matlock bridge, in alluvium and 1st lime, lead

Ladywash, in Evam, in shale, 1st lime, and toadstone, much lead, ore in shale and in toadstone, slickensides, a shaft 306 yards deep!

Lane-head. See Speedwell

Lea-wood, at Snitterton, in Darley, in 1st lime,

lead

Leas Vein, NW of Wirksworth, in 3rd lime, lead, gravel

Lees, in Taddington, in 2nd and 3rd lime, lead, squinted

Lime-kilns, and drake, in Winster, in 1st lime, lead, petroleum, gravel, caverns Littlebrook-head, in Stoke, near Eyam, in shale and 1st lime, lead

Little Pasture, in Eyam, in shale and 1st lime,

lead, ore in shale, and lime geodes containing petroleum, hades, fire-damp Long-dale-head, NE of Newhaven-house, in Hartington, in 3rd toadstone and 4th lime, lead, black wad, ochre

Long Rake, in Yolgrave and Middleton, in 1st and 2nd lime, lead, calamine Longstone-edge-venture, in Great Longsdon, in 1st and 2nd lime, much lead, fibrous spar, hades N: this rake parts and meets again Lucky-ploughman, in Brushfield, in 2nd lime, lead, lately opened, two ribs of ore of different kinds

Magpye, S of Sheldon, in 1st lime, lead

Maiden Rake, W of Little Hucklow, in 3rd lime, lead, ore in toadstone, 4 chance toadstone beds

Mandale Pipe and Rake, in Over Haddon, in 1st lime, lead, wide, one part hades, a very old

mine

Maury Flat-works, in Taddington, in 2nd and 3rd lime, lead, pyrites, ore in toadstone May Sough, in Great Hucklow, in 1st lime, lead

Meers, in Brassington, in 4th lime, lead, white ore, green ore

Meers, in Cromford, in shale and 1st lime, lead, calamine, cawk

Meerbrook, in Wirksworth, in shale and 1st lime, lead, found in 1807 in the forefield of the new sough

Merlin's Mine, in Eyam, in 1st lime, lead, a cavern and beautiful stalactites, stalagmites, &c. gravel

Middle-ditch, in Middleton by Wirksworth, in 1st lime, lead, calamine Middle-field, at Foolow, in Eyam, in 1st lime, lead

Mill-close, in Wensley, near Darley, in shale and 1st lime, lead, ore in shale, hazle nuts Mill-dam, in Great Hucklow, in shale and 1st lime, lead

Millers Pipe, NW of Castleton, in 1st lime, lead, yellow transparent fluor Mockshaw, or Hare-dale, NW of Bakewell, in shale limestone and 1st lime, lead, chance toadstone beds, clay wayboards Moseley Groove, at Foolow, in Eyam, in 1st lime, lead

Moss Rake, in Bradwell, in 3rd lime, lead, cawk, a large spring of water, large hillocks Mossey-Meer, in Winster, in 2nd lime and toadstone, lead, white ore, green ore, ochrey clay Mouldridge, near Pike-hall, in Bradburne, in 4th lime, lead, calamine

Mule-spinner, in Bradwell, in 3rd lime, lead, Bagshaw's cavern in it, beautiful stalactites,

&c.

Mullet-hill, or Stoney-way, in Matlock, in shale and 1st lime, lead, corrosive water Nay-green, in Little Longsdon, in 1st lime, lead

Nester's or Nestus Rake, on Masson hill, in Matlock, in 2nd lime, lead, calamine, black jack

Nether-hay, in Matlock, in 1st lime, lead, chert

breccia

Newhaven Mine, near Newhaven-house, in Hartington, in 4th lime, lead, white ore New Rake, in Castleton, in 4th lime, lead Nick-sough, W of Yolgrave, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead Noger-hole, on Middleton moor, in Wirksworth, in 3rd and 4th line, lead, clay wayboards North-Cliff, in Wirksworth, shale and 1st lime on E, and 3rd and 4th lime W, lead, cubic transparent fluor, wide, the great limestone fault through it

Nunleys, S of Pindale, in Castleton, in 3rd lime and toadstone, lead, calamine, black jack, ore in toadstone, worked by a horizontal drift or gallery

Nursery, N of Hopton, in dunstone or 3rd

[ocr errors]

toadstone, lead, copper, soft clay, ore in toad

stone

Nursery-end, in Carsington, in 4th lime, lead, calamine

Oakcliff, W of Wirksworth, in 3rd lime, lead, calamine

Odin, NW of Castleton, in shale and 1st lime, lead, black jack, fluor, cawk, elastic bitumen, selenite, sulphur, slickensides, hades S, vertebra, a very old mine

Old Isaac's venture, in Elton, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead, ore in toadstone

Old Nester's or Nestus Pipe, on Masson Hill, in Matlock, in 2nd lime and 2nd toadstone, much lead, calamine, a very old mine Old-Tor, N of Winnets Dale, in Castleton, in 4th lime, lead, coloured fluor Orchard Pipe, in Winster town, in 1st lime, lead, 150 yards wide! caverns in it Orchard, in Wirksworth, in shale and 1st lime, lead, cawk, cubic transparent fluor Overton, in Ashover, in 1st grit, shale, and 1st lime, much lead, cawk, large crystals of cale. spar Ox-close, at Snitterton, in Darley, in shale and 1st lime, lead, clay wayboards

Oxlow Rake, in Peak forest, in 3rd and 4th lime, lead, 6 yards wide

Peak Pipe, at Calver, near Hassop, in 1st lime, lead

Pearson's-venture Pipe, near the cliff, in Crich, in 1st lime, lead

Pens Rake, in Wirksworth, in shale and 1st lime, lead

Perseverance (formerly White Rake) in Carsington pastures, in 4th lime, lead Picture-end, at Hazlebadge, near Bradwell, in shale and 1st lime, lead, yellow fluor Placket Pipe, in Winster, in shale and 1st lime, much lead, wide, with caverns, one 120 yards high

Portaway, near Eldon hill, in Peak forest, in 3rd and 4th lime, lead

Portaway Pipe, in Elton and Winster, in shale and 1st lime, much lead, black-wad, 200 yards wide! gravel

Porters' in Bonsal, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead

Prince-Charles, NW of Wirksworth, in 3rd lime, lead, calamine

Providence, NE of Brassington, in 4th lime, lead, white ore

Putty-hill, in Brushfield, in 2nd lime, lead,

calamine

Raddle-pits, in Bradwell, in 3rd lime, lead, yellow and red ochre

Ranter, or Raven-tor, in Wirksworth, in shale
and 1st lime, much lead, white ore, black
jack, pyrites, ochre, cawk, Taylor's vein very
hard
Ispar, wide, hades E, a fault through it,
the SW side highest by 162 yards! skirts ⚫
dropt down, a cavern
Ratchwood, in Wirksworth, in shale and 1st
lime, much lead, black jack, cawk, cubic
transparent fluor, crossed by a fault at its W
end

Rath-Rake, in Elton town, in 1st lime, lead
Raven Tor, in Crich, in 1st lime, lead
Red-mineral, S of Newhaven house, in Har-
tington, in 4th lime, red iron ore, pretended

cinibar

Red Rake, near Sheldon, in Bakewell, in shale limestone, lead

Redseats, E of Castleton, in 1st lime, lead, calamine

Ribden, near Caldon, Staffordshire, in 4th lime, lead, copper

Robinstye Flat-work and Rake, in Over Haddon
and Meadow-place, near Yolgrave, in 1st
lime and toadstone, lead, ore in toadstone,
the great Bakewell fault crosses it
Robin-wash, in Great Longɛdon, in Ist toad-
stone and 2nd lime, lead

Rowbottom, in Crich, in 1st lime, lead
Rutland. See Cumberland mine

CHAP. 2.

List of Lead Mines.

CHAP. 2.

List of Lead Mines.

Cupolas.

Sallet-hole, in Great Longsdon, in 1st lime,

lead Salters-way, near Bright-gate, in Bonsal, in 2nd toadstone and 3rd lime, lead, chance toadstone beds, and filling fissures Samuel, or Samuel-engine, on Middleton moor, near Wirksworth, in 3rd and 4th lime, lead, squinted N, deep, large hillocks Sand-hole Pipe, SW of Wirksworth, in detached 4th lime, lead, gravel

Seedlow, in Wardlow and Stoney Middleton, in 1st and 2nd lime, lead

Seven-Rakes, near Matlock bridge W, in 1st and 2nd lime, lead, black jack, ore in toadstone, fluor, gravel, bones and teeth Shaw-engine, in Eyam, in shale and 1st lime, lead, ore in shale, allum, vegetable impressions in the shale

Shuttle, NE of Tideswell, in 3rd lime, lead Side-Rake, near Starkholmes, in Matlock, in shale and 1st and 2nd lime, lead, ore in toad

stone

[blocks in formation]

Slack, near Bright-gate, in Bonsal and Wensley, in 2nd and 3rd lime, much lead, chance toadstone beds, and filling fissures

Slack, on Middleton moor, near Wirksworth, in 3rd and 4th lime, lead, squinted N, deep Small-dale-head, in Bradwell, in 1st lime, lead, tigre-stone fluor

Smiling-fancy, in Elton, in 1st lime, lead Smithfield, at Bridge-town, in Wensley, in 1st lime detached, lead, kessel

Solms, in Wirksworth and Middleton, in 3rd lime, lead, gravel

South-side, in Stoney Middleton, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead, pyrites

Spar-Rake, W of Middleton by Wirksworth, in

3rd lime, much lead, a wayboard in 4th lime Speed, in Grindlow, near Eyam, in 1st lime, lead

Speedwell, or Lanehead pipe, in Castleton, in 4th lime, a trial, Foreside cavern and waterfall in it

Stafford's-dream, or Dream, W SW of Wirksworth, in 4th lime detached, much lead, ochre

Stone-pit Mine, in Over Haddon, in 1st lime, lead, rounded bloodstones, the last mine opened

Stoney-Lee, in Stanton in the Peak, in shale, coarse shale-grit and 1st lime, lead, very large crystals of cale spar

Stubben, E of Bonsal, in 2nd lime and white chert, lead, steatite Suckstone, in Brassington, in 4th lime, lead, steatite, china clay

Tanner's-venture, at Hazlebadge in Bradwell, in 1st lime, lead, yellow transparent fluor Thistley, in Wirksworth, in shale and 1st lime, lead, hades much, skirts dropt down Thornhill-slack, S of Tideswell, in 3rd lime on N, and 3rd toadstone S, lead, a fault through it

Tidslow-Rake, in Eyam, Grindlow, Great

Hucklow and Tideswell, by various names, in 1st and 3rd lime, lead, the great limestone fault crosses it in Hills rake

Tinley, in Cromford, shale and 1st lime, lead, ore in shale

Town-head Mine, in Ashover, in shale and 1st lime, lead

Townsend, at Overton in Ashover, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead

Trafalgar, or Willow, in Winster, in 1st lime, lead

Turnip-close, in Monyash W, in 2nd lime, lead, clay way boards

Twelve Meers, in Eyam, in shale and 1st lime, lead

Venture, in Cromford, in shale and 1st lime, lead, plumose white gypsum

Virgin Mine, at Hazlebadge near Bradwell, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead, sulphur in toadstone, slickensides, a skull and teeth Upper-field, in Brassington W, in 4th lime, lead, green ore, china clay

Wall-close, in Wirksworth, in shale and 1st lime, lead, white ore

Wam, or Wham, in Sheldon, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead, crosses Hubberdale pipe Wards Scrin, in Crich, in 1st lime, lead Warm-bath, near Sheldon in Bakewell, in 1st lime and toadstone, lead, ore in toadstone Water-Groove Pipe, at Wardlow-mires near Foolow, in shale and 1st lime, lead, softs Water-hole, in Hassop, in 1st lime, lead, hades Water-hull Pipe, NW of Castleton, in 4th lime, yellow ochre, fine coloured fluors Weather-Rake, E of Castleton, in 3rd and 4th lime, lead

Well-close in Brushfield, in 2nd lime, lead, black wad

Wells Rake, in Stanton in the Peak, in Ist lime, lead, pyrites

Westedge in Ashover, in shale and 1st lime and toadstone, lead, black jack, ore in toadstone, fluor, fibrous spar, petroleum in lime geodes in shale, slickensides, a fault through it, vegetable impressions in shale

Wet Rake, in Castleton and Bradwell, in 3rd lime, crosses several rakes

Wheels Rake, in Over-Haddon, Alport and
Stanton, in shale and 1st lime, lead
White-low Mines, near Ible in Bonsal, in 3rd
lime, lead, much calamine

White Mine, in Brassington, in 4th lime, lead, white ore

White Rake, in Great Hucklow and Tideswell, in 1st and 3rd lime, lead, white ore, green ore, ore in toadstone, toadstone riders, a fault crosses it

Windmill, in Wensley near Darley, in shale and 1st lime, lead, very wide, soft dirt in it Yate-stoop Pipe, in Winster, in shale and 1st lime, much lead, the vein crooked, a shaft 230 yards deep, a steam-engine under ground formerly

Yeild, in Middleton by Wirksworth, in 1st lime, lead, calamine, hades much, skirts dropt down

Yoke-cliff, in Wirksworth and Hopton, in 3rd and 4th lime, lead, three ribs of ores, hard spar, wide, hades S, the great limestone fault through the E part of it

The Cupolas or low-arched reverberatory furnaces, now exclusively used for the smelting of lead ore in Derbyshire, were introduced from Wales by a company of Quakers, about the year 1747, the first of which was erected at Kelstedge, in Ashover; but this is now disused and pulled down, as will be seen from the following list.

Cupolas for Smelting Lead in Derbyshire.

Barbrook, in Baslow (and slag mill)
Bradwell, 2 cupolas, Jeremy Raye and James
Furness

Meer Brook, or Devil's Bowling Alley, in Al-
derwasley, Richard Hurt, esq.

Lea, near Cromford (and slag mills) John Alsop and Co.

Middleton Dale, in Stoney Middleton (and slag mill) John Barker, esq.

Stone-edge in Ashover (and slag mill) William
and Charles Milnes

Totley (and slag mill) George B. Greaves, new
colour works

Via Gellia, in Bonsal Dale
Bonsal (and slag mill) John Alsop and Co.
Stoney Middleton (and slag mill) Duke of
Devonshire, Custom work for poor miners.

CHAP. 2. List of Cupolas.

Lead Ore.

It has been estimated that the average produce of ore is from 66 to 76 Average per cent.: but some assayers of the Derbyshire galena have stated 82, and produce of even higher rates per cent. to be obtained from it.—The pieces or half-pigs of lead are not of any certain weight, though the smelter endeavours, in filling the mould, to approach as near to 1761 lbs. as he can, this being the sixteenth part of the mill-fodder of 2820 lbs.-The Derbyshire lead is reweighed at Stockwith, when transshipped from the Chesterfield canal boats into coasting vessels in the Trent, by the fodder of 2408 lbs. ; at which weight the smelter makes up his invoice to a London lead-merchant; but on the arrival of the article, it is re-weighed by the fodder of 2184 lbs. ; or if consigned to the Hull market, it is there re-weighed by the fodder of 2340 lbs. ; and yet the custom duties are payable on the fodder of 2240 lbs.* Slickensides.Sometimes the vein-stuff is found perfectly divided ver- Slickensides. tically throughout, and the surfaces polished; and these are called slickensides or cracking-whole, which usually are ribbed or slightly fluted, horizontally: the appearances are very similar to those of faults, but extraneous matters do not usually accompany them, the sides being mostly in very close contact; and often, after one side is removed, so as to give room, especially if the surface be pecked or broken, large slapits, spels, or fragments fly off, sometimes with loud explosions, and continue so to do for some days or longer, until the gate or passage in such vein is greatly enlarged thereby: this is the case in Gang mine, in Cromford, where the hard 1st toadstone also, in the gates and shafts, thus spels off, until they want timbering, often, to support the roof and sides. The slickensides in the mines about Eyam, do not explode now, on mere scratching, as they were said to do in the late Mr. Whitehurst's time. Farey's list notes nine instances of mines with slickensides in them.

Iron.-The coal district, or great coal field, already described, contains Ironstone. nodules of ironstone, and frequently thin strata of rich compact argillaceous iron-ore. The most valuable is found towards the middle of the track which has been mentioned as extending from West and Kirk Hallam to Hallam on the borders of Yorkshire; but in the High Peak, where coal is found among the shale and grit of the Chinley hills, no iron has been discovered. Mineralogists have remarked that the colour and texture of the iron-ore in this county are very various. The ores of the argillaceous kind are the most common, and are principally used in the iron works. The thin strata formed by this species of the ore, frequently enclose shells and coralloids. Calcarious and sparry iron-ores of a fine brown red colour,

Farey, Vol. I. page 391.
G

Ironstone.

CHAP. 2. sometimes brightly yellow, and not unfrequently scaly and of a dingy brown hue, are found in amorphous masses near the surface, and filling insulated places. These masses are mixed usefully with other ores, and in the manufacture of steel they are particularly serviceable.

Mode of

Ore.

At very early periods, the ironstone of Derbyshire was known, and charcoal furnaces and bloomaries were erected in various places for smelting it and converting it into military and useful articles. The first mode of getting Iron getting this mineral was by open casts or works. The richest ironstone beds have since been traced along the line of these open iron works. When the bassets were exhausted, recourse was had to a mode of working, called bell-work. In this was a circular shaft from three to teir feet deep, the lower part spreading out into the form of a cone or bell. This spreads over the ore to the width of many yards, through which the ironstone is collected and raised to the surface.* This space being exhausted, the pit is relinquished and a new pit sunk of a similar depth and form. When the ironstone bed is covered by a solid hard stratum, then the ore is worked in banks in the regular manner of mining; and this method is always preferable where it can be practised, because it not only prevents much waste of ore, but it occasions less injury to the land.

Ironstone.

The ironstone beds at Codnor park, near Heanor, those at Morley park, near Heage, and those at Wingerworth, Chesterfield, and Staveley, are regarded as being the most valuable in the county. At all these places furnaces have been built; and one of considerable magnitude has been constructed at Butterley, near Alfreton. The old charcoal furnaces continued in use until the beginning of the present century, although the immense consumption of wood had become as impolitic as it was expensive. Iron is now made in and near Derbyshire, in tall furnaces only, heated with the coke of pit-coal, and blown by cylinder bellows worked by steam engines. The first of these erected in this county, was that at Morley park, near Belper. These furnaces are of a circular or conical form, having the fire with a blast at the bottom. When the furnace is prepared, and duly seasoned, the process of smelting begins; and fuel, ore and flux, in alternate layers, are continually put in day and night; the fire not being suffered to go out till the furnace wants repair, which is frequently a period of some years. The fuel is generally coke: limestone is the universal flux. The ore is previously burnt in the open air in beds, first with coke, and afterwards with coal slack. It is then broken into small pieces and skreened. Different kinds of iron are produced by varying the proportions of ore, flux and fuel. When the fusion of the ironstone commences, the smelted metal passes through the layers of coke and limestone, and collecting at the bottom of the furnace, is let out into beds of sand, moulded to the forms required. A pig of iron is three feet and a half in length, and of one hundred pounds weight. When first obtained from the ore, the metal is brittle, and void of due malleability. To give it this property it is wrought into bars. The quantity of iron produced annually in this county amounts to between fifteen and sixteen thousand tons.† Derbyshire is the fourth English county in the produce of pig-iron.

• Ironstone is dug up by, what is termed, the dozen, which is about 50 cubic feet, weighing 44 tos. From 12 to 16 dozen is the estimated average produce of a Bell-pit.

Beauties of England and Wales, Vol. III. page 306.

« PreviousContinue »