Water-powered forges

[Davran]

Does anyone know anything about the history of using water to power a blacksmith's forge? I've tried Googling, but nothing much seems to come up.

I've come across water-powered forges in Austria, but hadn't heard of them in England and as some of my ancestors were blacksmiths, I'd be interested to know more about it.

[busyglen]

Davran, If you go here there's a bit about them with a picture as well:

www.victorianweb.org/technology/ir/8.html

Glenys

[peter nicholl]

Hi Davran

I tried googling "water wheel" and "forge" and it threw up quite a few, especially museums in the industrial midlands. I know that they were used to power drop hammers and trip hammers. They may have allso been used to operate bellows.
Peter

[Ladkyis]

There is a place called Furnace in Mid Wales - on the southern side of the estuary that Barmouth is on - and that was a water driven furnace that used the water wheel to operate the bellows. Spent an interesting hour there on our way from somewhere to somewhere else.

[Ed Bradford]

I saw a show on the History Channel here in the States some time back. It was about how the Romans used water to power all sorts of things. Drop hammers was one that I remember. There was much more but I can't recall what they were. My CRS keeps kicking in (Can't Remember Stuff). My point is that using water to power a blacksmith's forge may go back to Roman times. ................Ed

[Davran]

Thank you one and all. It seems I have a gap in my education regarding the industrial revolution - I had never heard of water-powered forges in England before! I'll have to pay a visit to one of them.

Some years ago we spent a fascinating couple of hours at the Scythe Museum in Deutschfeistritz in Austria. There was an old boy there who demonstrated the whole process of making scythe blades. Unfortunately the whole tour was in German, so, although I understood most of what he said at the time, I didn't really retain it all. He was quite a character, with gnarled hands that had been broken by the hammers (as far as I recall) and really skilled at what he was doing. Apparently the museum has been undergoing refurbishment - I just hope they haven't spoiled it.

[Peter Goodey]

I'll have to pay a visit to one of them.

The Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet (linked from Busyglen's message) is well worth a visit. Kelham Island (unfortunately closed following the floods) is more about heavy industry.

http://www.simt.co.uk/

On your way there, you could stop in Nottinghamshire and visit Southwell Workhouse - the best preserved Victorian workhouse, now run by the National Trust.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-theworkhouse/

(If interested, see also the free National Archives resource at
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/workhouse.asp )

[Davran]

Peter, thanks for the links. The Sheffield museums look interesting - pity I didn't know about them when my daughter was at uni there. As far as I know, none of my ancestors found themselves in the workhouse, but Southwell looks worth a visit.

So many places to see, so much to do - I'll have to wait until I retire. Then I'll probably have forgotten what it was I wanted to do :confused::o