west midlands industry: 1485 – 1750 · web viewthis is an example of what i mean, a bell pit that...

West Midlands Regional Research Framework for Archaeology, Seminar 6: Hemingway 1

West Midlands Industry: 1485 – 1750

John HemingwayArchaeological Officer, Dudley Metropolitan Borough council

[email protected]

I make no apologies for concentrating on industrial archaeology, as in this period this is the most important element of the history of the area and in 20 minutes I have no time to discuss the Civil War or town growth, or any other issue of supposed importance.

Map: Estates of the Barony of Dudley

For most of the Medieval period the area of Birmingham and the Black Country was divided between the baronial lands of the Lords of Dudley, and the Church lands of Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Halesowen. By the post-medieval period this landownership was beginning to break up and certain centres were taking on industrial characteristics.

Work in the Wednesbury area has disclosed a burgeoning Pottery Industry and excavations in Birmingham City Centre have shown tanning, metal-working, hemp and flax processing. No doubt all these latter industries could be found in most of the towns of the area.

One thing that did grow in Birmingham was the brass trade. Abraham Darby, that famous Dudley celebrity, did his apprenticeship in Birmingham in the brass trade. Daniel Defoe in his travels around Britain described Birmingham as a green city; the food was green, the water was green and the people were green, the green presumably being verdigris.

Although I am going to concentrate on Dudley, what I have to say for that Borough certainly refers to the rest of the Birmingham and Black Country area.

Map: Medieval Dudley in 1307.

Mike Shaw showed my map in the Medieval Regional Framework seminar. What it shows is mainly an agricultural landscape, with settlements interspersed amidst the fields. The largest single item in the Borough was Pensnett Chase, an area of common land with its woods and heaths, marsh and moor that lay in the centre. The embryonic metal industry had already started in the Dudley area in this period. The Inquisition Post Mortem's of the 13th century Barons of Dudley recorded large iron shops and coal mines being used in Pensnett Chase.

Place-name evidence also supports mining activity in Black Delph, you may remember 'when Adam delved and Eve span who was then the gentleman'- the call of John Bull in


the 14th century. The black element obviously refers to coal. So when Derek Hurst mentioned in the last Framework seminar that a lot of the early industry was conducted in the wilderness, here is the evidence for it!

You will no doubt by now gather I have an obsession about cartography. Fig. 1 below (Post-medeival Dudley in 1750) is a later map I have had drawn up and it shows the borough in the mid 18th century. On the surface very little appears to have changed, but don't you believe it. The population has more than doubled and documentary evidence shows that people are engaged in both a rural job and an industrial one - mostly nail-making! When the other West Midland Boroughs get to draw up their own maps of their areas I do not expect to see them being any different.

It’s Pensnett Chase we need to look at again or, to be more particular, the boundaries. Originally it was the abode of charcoal burners, but now coal, iron, fire clay and clay miners work (but cannot live) within its bounds. So settlements crowd the surrounding areas. Even if you did not know the enclosure of the Chase was going to cause an explosion of work and settlement you would guess it was going to happen!But before we look for archaeological origins what sort of industry is occurring in the area.

Watermills Like elsewhere in Birmingham and the Black Country they were originally used for corn grinding or fulling, but by this period they are used for blast furnaces, forges and to split iron.

Glassworks This is a newcomer to the area. When their fuel - charcoal - was banned in the early 17th century, from charcoal areas they came to coal areas. More importantly they found in Dudley the finest fireclay in the country for their kilns and crucibles.

Smelting Furnaces Dud Dudley recorded over 14 furnaces in the area before the Civil War.

Forges As the period progressed there were thousands of forges all over the Black Country.

Limestone Mining Limestone was used for agricultural purposes in the 17th century, but after the discovery of its use as a flux for iron working they were digging massive quantities out along a wide swathe of the Black Country; firstly in quarries and later in underground galleries.

Woodland Products Dud Dudley was the first person to state that wood supplies were getting low in the West Midlands. In fact they had been low for years but the planting of plantations and coppices stopped it from running out all together. What he really meant was that the


demand for charcoal was constantly over-reaching the supply, whereas coal was in constant supply.


Fig. 1


So you might say that if you know all this, what more information do we need and the answer is lots; details, details and more details. Most of the evidence I have used so far is historical, but it needs to be proved archaeologically! So what sort of things should we be looking for? To list them would take all day and the time is ticking away so all I can do is mention a few questions I would want to ask.

GlassworksSlide: Redhouse Cone. The glasscone seems to have evolved in the 18th century and used to be a familiar site in the West Midlands, now only one survives - this one! I have excavated four and I believe now I am one of the midlands authorities on them. But I still have many queries about them, ranging from a simple when did they start building them to why are the internal layouts all different?

Slide: Cannock Kiln. The 16th century Cannock kiln shows a much more basic type. This must be the type we have documentary evidence for in Birmingham and the Black Country. So where are they? Why haven't we found one? The earliest one mentioned was at a place called Colmans south of the River Stour. But the present Colmans Hill is in Cradley, miles away. Was Colmans another name for Hungary Hill near Stourbridge?

Coal MinesSlide: Netto Site. Coal Mines in Dudley cover the coalfield but they also vary in time and again it's the earliest mines I am after. This is an example of what I mean, a bell pit that was excavated in Dudley by Birmingham University Field Archaeological Unit. Unfortunately we did not bottom it, but we do have historic evidence suggesting it was 16th century.

This pit was excavated near where the coal-layers came to the surface but how far down did they go before they had to change the technology? I would like to know when the technology changed, i.e. when were bell pits given up for conventional mines? When did tubs along wooden rails replace baskets?

Iron FurnacesSlide: Dudley Borough and 'Flying Furnaces':I am presently seeking evidence for Dud Dudley's coal-fired furnaces. I know roughly where they were.

Askew Bridge: is an interesting example right on the boundaries of the Dudley. Unfortunately it has been used at first as a coal tip and more recently a council tip, so we are going to need a nuclear device to clear away the debris.

Coneygre: was north-east of Dudley Castle. Again a recent desk topped study I have done has revealed a present Iron works is stuck on top of it (British Federal); as this is a going concern it will be a while before we can dig it.


Furnace Row in Dudley is an interesting one. It seems to have been one of Dud Dudley's, but it is not associated with a stream. Question; How did they drive the bellows? This is by the side of grassland so perhaps we can look at this in the future?

ForgesCradley Forge was a site that did secondary iron working in Dud's time. Mike Hodder and Pete Boland have managed to promote it to the general public. But the various phases of iron working on the site need to be understood.

Slide: Stone Street, Hearth.

According to Dud Dudley there were 20,000 forges in a 10-mile radius of Dudley Castle. This is just one, a 16th-17th century forge, which Peter Boland and I excavated in Dudley a year or so ago. This was associated with smithying waste and was close to a place called the Horse Pool. Perhaps the smith was making horseshoes? Though documentary evidence suggests nail making was rife in the area. We need more evidence of these hearths and running through the various periods. How far did the iron-working district go? How did they change? Did they change? Can you tell what they actually made?

LimestoneThe questions I would like to find answers for in this industry are when and where the surface deposits were worked out? How quickly did it take the miners to clear a gallery? And what was the process used? Was gunpowder used or was it pick and shovel etc etc.

Slide: Step Shaft Basin. Although this 50-meter deep underground canal basin was dug out in 1801-1805 some of its details relate to earlier periods, particularly the rails.

Slide: Rails. I did a minor excavation during the blocking off of one of the galleries and discovered two different types of tub rails. 'L' shaped rails from the earlier period and flanged rails from a later period. I did some documentary research on this mine and discovered a report of 1835 suggesting that a rail change had been made then.This shows the value of historical research!

ConclusionBirmingham and the Black Country is a very exciting area for Industrial Archaeology, not only because it is there but also because most of the early techniques started here. Now all we need to do is learn about it. I am reminded of that American film about a robot that was constantly requiring more input. We need more archaeological input to demonstrate to all that Birmingham and the Black Country was at the centre of development in the creation of our modern world.

west midlands industry: 1485 – 1750 · web viewthis is an example of what i mean, a bell pit that...

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