Darkhill Ironworks
Encyclopedia
Darkhill Ironworks, and the neighbouring Titanic Steelworks, are internationally important industrial remains associated with the development of the iron and steel industries. Both are scheduled monuments. They are located on the edge of a small hamlet called Gorsty Knoll
, just to the west of Parkend, in the Forest of Dean
, Gloucestershire
. Historically, Darkhill was sometimes written Dark Hill.
metallurgist
, David Mushet
, moved to the Forest of Dean in February 1810 to take up full-time management of Whitecliff Ironworks
in Coleford
- although he quickly disengaged himself from the business for reasons that are not known.
In 1818/19 he built a coke
-fired 'experimental furnace' at Darkhill, marking the start of industrial activity on the site. Although he did produce significant quantities of iron for sale, the larger part of the works was given over to research and experimental production.
In 1845 David retired to Monmouth
and conveyed Darkhill to his three sons, with the youngest, Robert Mushet
, becoming the manager. The sons constantly quarrelled and just six weeks after their father’s death they attempted to sell Darkhill, and other works bequeathed to them, at auction in July 1847. Either there were no takers, or as seems more likely, it was withdrawn from sale. In September 1847 the brothers agreed to dissolve their partnership and the main furnace was probably never again in blast.
Robert, now free of family ties, went into partnership with a Birmingham merchant named Thomas Deykin Clare. Trading as R Mushet & Co., they opened a 'small experimental steelworks' on the upper terrace of Darkhill in 1848, called the Forest Steel Works.
Robert produced some steel here, and some finished tools, but more importantly he made great progress in his experiments with steel alloys and it became clear that a new operation would be required to facilitate production. The alloy for which Robert held most aspiration was one using Titanium
; so he named the new company The Titanic Steelworks and Iron Works Co. Ltd., known as The Titanic Steelworks. It opened in October 1862, less than 250 yards from the old works of Darkhill. Three hundred men were employed there, but demand for the new alloys, and profits, did not meet expectations. Robert returned to his experiments an in 1868 he invented 'R Mushet's Special Steel'
(R.M.S.).
In 1870 Mushet met Samuel Osborn, a Shefield steelmaker, who persuaded him that the future of steel production lay the rapidly expanding industrial centre of Shefield. In 1871 the Titanic works were closed down and Mushet entered into a new agreement with Samuel Osborn. The agreement was straightforward, Osborn was given the sole right to manufacture R.M.S. and Mushet was to receive a royalty on every ton sold. To ensure secrecy some of the specialised processes were still carried out in the Forest of Dean, overseen by Mushet himself, while Mushet's two sons Henry and Edward moved to Sheffield to oversee its manufacture. Samuel Osborn & Company
went on to become the second largest steel firm in Sheffield.
The Titanic company was wound up in 1874. By the 1960s the buildings had lost their roofs and many were bulldozed - the material being used as hardcore in the construction of the Severn Bridge
.
Darkhill Ironworks was finally sold by the brothers in 1864, to Samuel Morgan. By 1874 it was owned by the Severn & Wye Railway & Canal Co, who used part of the site to run their new railway across. In 1981 Darkhill was sold back to the Crown.
, but it was almost a century later before they began to make an appearance in the Forest of Dean. Despite the presence of both extensive iron-ore reserves and coal measures, Forest of Dean coal did not produce coke which was ideal for smelting and local ironmasters
were reluctant to invest in the new technology. Around 1820, however, Moses Teague, whilst borrowing the cupola furnace
at Darkhill Ironworks, discovered a way to make good iron from local coke. To exploit his discovery, he re-opened Parkend Ironworks
in 1824 and Cinderford Ironworks
in 1829, greatly advancing the Forest of Dean iron industry.
While it could be argued that David Mushet's most important contributions to metallurgy were made prior to 1818, credit must be given to him for laying the foundations at Darkhill, both literal and metaphorical, upon which the achievements of his son Robert were built. Both men were great experimenters, with Robert carrying out over ten thousand experiments in just ten years, during his time at the Forest Steel Works. Robert took out fifty four patents on his work, but a lack of income and commercial acumen meant that he was never to receive full recognition, financial or personal, for his achievements.
Robert Mushet's first major contribution to metallurgy came in 1856 when perfected the Bessemer Process
by discovering the solution to early quality problems which beset the process. Mushet patented his method, but it was allowed to lapse. Later, Bessemer claimed to have independently stumbled across the same solution. and Mushet, without a valid patent, received little credit. Whether or not the patents could have been sustained is not known, but the value of Mushet's procedure was shown by its near universal adoption in conjunction with the Bessemer Process.
In 1857, steel for the first steel railway lines was made at Darkhill and rolled at the Ebbw Vale Iron Company's works. They were laid near Derby railway station, on a heavily used section of track, where the Midland Railway
had been replacing the iron rails every three to five months. After ten years of use, Robert Mushet's new rails showed no sign of wear. Aware of their historic importance, Robert Mushet made repeated requests for their return once they reached the end of their usable life - but they were scrapped in 1873.
In a second key advance in metallurgy Mushet invented 'R Mushet's Special Steel'
(R.M.S.) in 1868. It was both the first true tool steel
and the first air-hardening steel. It revolutionised the design of machine tools and the progress of industrial metalworking, and was the forerunner of High speed steel
.
Darkhill Ironworks and the Titanic Steelworks were scheduled in November 2002. Included within the scheduled area are a section of tram-road, built to serve the furnaces, and a large lump of clinker, known as 'the bear'. The site is now preserved as an industrial archaeological site of international importance and is open to the public.
Gorsty Knoll
Gorsty Knoll is a small hamlet, located in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. The internationally important remains of Darkhill Ironworks and the Titanic Steelworks, are located on the edge of the hamlet. Gorsty Knoll is also famed for its Glow worms....
, just to the west of Parkend, in the Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. Historically, Darkhill was sometimes written Dark Hill.
History
The noted ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
metallurgist
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, David Mushet
David Mushet
David Mushet was a Scottish metallurgist and the youngest son of Margaret Cochran and William Mushet.-Early life:Mushet was born on October 2, 1772, in Dalkeith, near Edinburgh. He was educated at Dalkeith Grammar School....
, moved to the Forest of Dean in February 1810 to take up full-time management of Whitecliff Ironworks
Whitecliff Ironworks
Whitecliff Ironworks, sometimes referred to as Whitecliff Furnace, at Coleford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, are industrial remains associated with the production of iron, using coke, in the Forest of Dean.-Background:...
in Coleford
Coleford
Coleford may refer to a number of settlements in England:* Coleford, Devon* Coleford, Gloucestershire* Coleford, Somerset...
- although he quickly disengaged himself from the business for reasons that are not known.
In 1818/19 he built a coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
-fired 'experimental furnace' at Darkhill, marking the start of industrial activity on the site. Although he did produce significant quantities of iron for sale, the larger part of the works was given over to research and experimental production.
In 1845 David retired to Monmouth
Monmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
and conveyed Darkhill to his three sons, with the youngest, Robert Mushet
Robert Forester Mushet
Robert Forester Mushet was a British metallurgist and businessman, born April 8, 1811, in Coleford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. He was the youngest son of Scottish parents, Agnes Wilson and David Mushet; an ironmaster, formerly of the Clyde, Alfreton and Whitecliff...
, becoming the manager. The sons constantly quarrelled and just six weeks after their father’s death they attempted to sell Darkhill, and other works bequeathed to them, at auction in July 1847. Either there were no takers, or as seems more likely, it was withdrawn from sale. In September 1847 the brothers agreed to dissolve their partnership and the main furnace was probably never again in blast.
Robert, now free of family ties, went into partnership with a Birmingham merchant named Thomas Deykin Clare. Trading as R Mushet & Co., they opened a 'small experimental steelworks' on the upper terrace of Darkhill in 1848, called the Forest Steel Works.
Robert produced some steel here, and some finished tools, but more importantly he made great progress in his experiments with steel alloys and it became clear that a new operation would be required to facilitate production. The alloy for which Robert held most aspiration was one using Titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
; so he named the new company The Titanic Steelworks and Iron Works Co. Ltd., known as The Titanic Steelworks. It opened in October 1862, less than 250 yards from the old works of Darkhill. Three hundred men were employed there, but demand for the new alloys, and profits, did not meet expectations. Robert returned to his experiments an in 1868 he invented 'R Mushet's Special Steel'
Mushet steel
Mushet steel, also known as Robert Mushet's Special Steel , self-hardening steel and air-hardening steel, is considered the first tool steel and air-hardening steel. It was invented in 1868 by Robert Forester Mushet. Prior to Mushet steel, steel had to be quenched to harden it...
(R.M.S.).
In 1870 Mushet met Samuel Osborn, a Shefield steelmaker, who persuaded him that the future of steel production lay the rapidly expanding industrial centre of Shefield. In 1871 the Titanic works were closed down and Mushet entered into a new agreement with Samuel Osborn. The agreement was straightforward, Osborn was given the sole right to manufacture R.M.S. and Mushet was to receive a royalty on every ton sold. To ensure secrecy some of the specialised processes were still carried out in the Forest of Dean, overseen by Mushet himself, while Mushet's two sons Henry and Edward moved to Sheffield to oversee its manufacture. Samuel Osborn & Company
Samuel Osborn & Company
Samuel Osborn and Company was a steelmaker and engineering tool manufacturer situated in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.- Early life :Samuel Osborn junior was born in Sheffield in 1826, his father, also named Samuel, was a partner in the firm of Clark and Osborn, makers of pocket knives, razors,...
went on to become the second largest steel firm in Sheffield.
The Titanic company was wound up in 1874. By the 1960s the buildings had lost their roofs and many were bulldozed - the material being used as hardcore in the construction of the Severn Bridge
Severn Bridge
The Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol, England, and Monmouthshire in South Wales, via Beachley, a peninsula between the River Severn and River Wye estuary. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and...
.
Darkhill Ironworks was finally sold by the brothers in 1864, to Samuel Morgan. By 1874 it was owned by the Severn & Wye Railway & Canal Co, who used part of the site to run their new railway across. In 1981 Darkhill was sold back to the Crown.
Significance and legacy
The first coke-fired blast furnace had been constructed in 1709, at Coalbrookdale in ShropshireShropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, but it was almost a century later before they began to make an appearance in the Forest of Dean. Despite the presence of both extensive iron-ore reserves and coal measures, Forest of Dean coal did not produce coke which was ideal for smelting and local ironmasters
Ironmaster
An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
were reluctant to invest in the new technology. Around 1820, however, Moses Teague, whilst borrowing the cupola furnace
Cupola furnace
A Cupola or Cupola furnace is a melting device used in foundries that can be used to melt cast iron, ni-resist iron and some bronzes. The cupola can be made almost any practical size. The size of a cupola is expressed in diameters and can range from . The overall shape is cylindrical and the...
at Darkhill Ironworks, discovered a way to make good iron from local coke. To exploit his discovery, he re-opened Parkend Ironworks
Parkend Ironworks
Parkend Ironworks, also known as Parkend Furnace, in the village of Parkend, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, was a coke-fired furnace built in 1799...
in 1824 and Cinderford Ironworks
Cinderford Ironworks
Cinderford Ironworks, also known as Cinderford Furnace, was a coke-fired blast furnace, built in 1795, just west of Cinderford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England.-Background:...
in 1829, greatly advancing the Forest of Dean iron industry.
While it could be argued that David Mushet's most important contributions to metallurgy were made prior to 1818, credit must be given to him for laying the foundations at Darkhill, both literal and metaphorical, upon which the achievements of his son Robert were built. Both men were great experimenters, with Robert carrying out over ten thousand experiments in just ten years, during his time at the Forest Steel Works. Robert took out fifty four patents on his work, but a lack of income and commercial acumen meant that he was never to receive full recognition, financial or personal, for his achievements.
Robert Mushet's first major contribution to metallurgy came in 1856 when perfected the Bessemer Process
Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly...
by discovering the solution to early quality problems which beset the process. Mushet patented his method, but it was allowed to lapse. Later, Bessemer claimed to have independently stumbled across the same solution. and Mushet, without a valid patent, received little credit. Whether or not the patents could have been sustained is not known, but the value of Mushet's procedure was shown by its near universal adoption in conjunction with the Bessemer Process.
In 1857, steel for the first steel railway lines was made at Darkhill and rolled at the Ebbw Vale Iron Company's works. They were laid near Derby railway station, on a heavily used section of track, where the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
had been replacing the iron rails every three to five months. After ten years of use, Robert Mushet's new rails showed no sign of wear. Aware of their historic importance, Robert Mushet made repeated requests for their return once they reached the end of their usable life - but they were scrapped in 1873.
In a second key advance in metallurgy Mushet invented 'R Mushet's Special Steel'
Mushet steel
Mushet steel, also known as Robert Mushet's Special Steel , self-hardening steel and air-hardening steel, is considered the first tool steel and air-hardening steel. It was invented in 1868 by Robert Forester Mushet. Prior to Mushet steel, steel had to be quenched to harden it...
(R.M.S.) in 1868. It was both the first true tool steel
Tool steel
Tool steel refers to a variety of carbon and alloy steels that are particularly well-suited to be made into tools. Their suitability comes from their distinctive hardness, resistance to abrasion, their ability to hold a cutting edge, and/or their resistance to deformation at elevated temperatures...
and the first air-hardening steel. It revolutionised the design of machine tools and the progress of industrial metalworking, and was the forerunner of High speed steel
High speed steel
High speed steelMost copyeditors today would tend to choose to style the unit adjective high-speed with a hyphen, rendering the full term as high-speed steel, and this styling is not uncommon . However, it is true that in the metalworking industries the styling high speed steel is long-established...
.
Darkhill Ironworks and the Titanic Steelworks were scheduled in November 2002. Included within the scheduled area are a section of tram-road, built to serve the furnaces, and a large lump of clinker, known as 'the bear'. The site is now preserved as an industrial archaeological site of international importance and is open to the public.
See also
- Whitecliff IronworksWhitecliff IronworksWhitecliff Ironworks, sometimes referred to as Whitecliff Furnace, at Coleford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, are industrial remains associated with the production of iron, using coke, in the Forest of Dean.-Background:...
- Parkend IronworksParkend IronworksParkend Ironworks, also known as Parkend Furnace, in the village of Parkend, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, was a coke-fired furnace built in 1799...
- Cinderford IronworksCinderford IronworksCinderford Ironworks, also known as Cinderford Furnace, was a coke-fired blast furnace, built in 1795, just west of Cinderford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England.-Background:...
- Crucible steelCrucible steelCrucible steel describes a number of different techniques for making steel in a crucible. Its manufacture is essentially a refining process which is dependent on preexisting furnace products...
- Forest of Dean CoalfieldForest of Dean CoalfieldThe Forest of Dean Coalfield, lying under the Forest of Dean, in northwest Gloucestershire, is one of the smaller coalfields in the British Isles, although intensive mining during the 19th and 20th centuries has had enormous influence on the landscape, history, culture and economy of the area.For...
Further reading
- Keith Web, Robert Mushet and the Darkhill Ironworks, ISBN 1903599024
- Fred M. Osborn, The Story of the Mushets, London, Thomas Nelson & Sons (1952)
- Ralph Anstis, Man of Iron - Man of Steel, ISBN 095113714X