Henry Cort
Encyclopedia
Henry Cort was an English
ironmaster
. During the Industrial Revolution
in England, Cort began refining iron
from pig iron
to wrought iron
(or bar iron) using innovative production systems. In 1783 he patented the puddling process
for refining iron ore. The Henry Cort Community College
bears his name, located in the large town of Fareham
, in the south of Hampshire, England.
, Cort was born in Lancaster
. Although his date of birth has traditionally been given as 1740, evidence from the time of his first marriage suggests he was born in April or May 1741. As a young man, he worked as a Royal Navy
pay agent in London
, where his interest in the poor quality of English iron against overseas supplies developed, leading to his inventions that greatly increased the quality of iron production. He left his job as an agent in 1775. His 1768 marriage to Elizabeth Heysham had connected him to the Attwick family of Gosport
, and to Elizabeth's uncle, William Attwick. Cort joined Attwick in the family iron business, living and working in Gosport.
With an increase in demand for iron goods from the Royal Navy
, the ironworking enterprise in Middle Street, Gosport flourished, but was strained by a 1779 contract for re-rolling barrel hoops for the Navy Vitualling Board. To cope with this, Cort set up an iron works in Fontley, Hampshire
. This was a rolling
mill, and here he developed his ideas, leading to patent
s in 1783 for the grooved rolling mill and 1784 for his balling or puddling furnace
, allowing the manufacture of crude, standardized shapes. His work built on the existing ideas of the Cranege brothers
and their reverberatory furnace
(where the heat is applied from above, rather than forced air
from below) and Peter Onions' puddling process where the iron is stirred to separate out impurities and extract the higher quality wrought iron. The furnace effectively lowers the carbon content of the cast iron
charge by oxidation. The "puddler" extracts a mass of iron from the furnace using a rabbling bar. The extracted ball of metal is then processed into a shingle by a shingling
hammer, after which it is rolled in a rolling mill.
(1859-1935)). The partnership eventually turned out very badly, but initially the elder Jellicoe financed Cort's experimentation with large sums and a wharf
at Gosport
was purchased. Adam Jellicoe's death (1789) revealed Adam to be effectively bankrupt, and so Cort's debts to Jellicoe were called in to settle the estate. These included the patents which were thus taken over by the Government. The younger Jellicoe was given sole control of the mill and wharf although he (as Cort's partner) also had to repay his father's debts- mostly to the Navy. Cort's process was not suitable for coke-smelted pig iron and various improvements were made which did not infringe the patents. Although Cort was soon discharged from bankruptcy.
Cort married twice. A short-lived marriage to Elizabeth Brown was succeeded by his marriage in 1768 to Elizabeth Heysham, by whom he had a large family. However, his business ventures did not bring him wealth, even though vast numbers of the puddling furnaces that he developed were eventually used (reportedly 8,200 by 1820) as they used a modified version of his process. He was later awarded a government pension
, but died a ruined man, and was buried in Hampstead
churchyard in London.
His son, Richard Cort, was cashier of the British Iron Company
for a short period in 1825-6 and subsequently wrote several pamphlets which were severely critical of the management of the company. He also attacked a number of early railway companies.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
ironmaster
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....
. During the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
in England, Cort began refining iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
from pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
to wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
(or bar iron) using innovative production systems. In 1783 he patented the puddling process
Puddling (metallurgy)
Puddling was an Industrial Revolution means of making iron and steel. In the original puddling technique, molten iron in a reverberatory furnace was stirred with rods, which were consumed in the process...
for refining iron ore. The Henry Cort Community College
The Henry Cort Community College
The Henry Cort Community College, formerly Fareham Park Senior School, is a mixed sex comprehensive school in Fareham, Hampshire. The school has specialist Sports College status....
bears his name, located in the large town of Fareham
Fareham
The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...
, in the south of Hampshire, England.
Early life
The son of a builderConstruction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
, Cort was born in Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
. Although his date of birth has traditionally been given as 1740, evidence from the time of his first marriage suggests he was born in April or May 1741. As a young man, he worked as a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
pay agent in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where his interest in the poor quality of English iron against overseas supplies developed, leading to his inventions that greatly increased the quality of iron production. He left his job as an agent in 1775. His 1768 marriage to Elizabeth Heysham had connected him to the Attwick family of Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, and to Elizabeth's uncle, William Attwick. Cort joined Attwick in the family iron business, living and working in Gosport.
Rolling mill and Puddling furnace
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, the ironworking enterprise in Middle Street, Gosport flourished, but was strained by a 1779 contract for re-rolling barrel hoops for the Navy Vitualling Board. To cope with this, Cort set up an iron works in Fontley, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. This was a rolling
Rolling (metalworking)
In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through a pair of rolls. Rolling is classified according to the temperature of the metal rolled. If the temperature of the metal is above its recrystallization temperature, then the process is termed as hot rolling...
mill, and here he developed his ideas, leading to patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s in 1783 for the grooved rolling mill and 1784 for his balling or puddling furnace
Furnace
A furnace is a device used for heating. The name derives from Latin fornax, oven.In American English and Canadian English, the term furnace on its own is generally used to describe household heating systems based on a central furnace , and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the...
, allowing the manufacture of crude, standardized shapes. His work built on the existing ideas of the Cranege brothers
Cranege brothers
Thomas and George Cranege developed the use of the reverberatory furnace for the production of wrought iron from cast iron. Their experimentation using coal in 1766 at the Coalbrookdale iron works under the sponsorship of Richard Reynolds was a precursor to the work of Henry Cort, who further...
and their reverberatory furnace
Reverberatory furnace
A reverberatory furnace is a metallurgical or process furnace that isolates the material being processed from contact with the fuel, but not from contact with combustion gases...
(where the heat is applied from above, rather than forced air
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
from below) and Peter Onions' puddling process where the iron is stirred to separate out impurities and extract the higher quality wrought iron. The furnace effectively lowers the carbon content of the cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
charge by oxidation. The "puddler" extracts a mass of iron from the furnace using a rabbling bar. The extracted ball of metal is then processed into a shingle by a shingling
Shingling (metallurgy)
Shingling was a stage in the production of bar iron or steel, in the finery and puddling processes. As with many ironmaking terms, this is derived from the French - cinglage....
hammer, after which it is rolled in a rolling mill.
Partnership
His partnership in the Fontley Mill was with Samuel Jellicoe (son of Adam Jellicoe, who had important Navy connections, and great-grand father of the hero of Jutland Admiral JellicoeJohn Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
(1859-1935)). The partnership eventually turned out very badly, but initially the elder Jellicoe financed Cort's experimentation with large sums and a wharf
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
at Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
was purchased. Adam Jellicoe's death (1789) revealed Adam to be effectively bankrupt, and so Cort's debts to Jellicoe were called in to settle the estate. These included the patents which were thus taken over by the Government. The younger Jellicoe was given sole control of the mill and wharf although he (as Cort's partner) also had to repay his father's debts- mostly to the Navy. Cort's process was not suitable for coke-smelted pig iron and various improvements were made which did not infringe the patents. Although Cort was soon discharged from bankruptcy.
Cort married twice. A short-lived marriage to Elizabeth Brown was succeeded by his marriage in 1768 to Elizabeth Heysham, by whom he had a large family. However, his business ventures did not bring him wealth, even though vast numbers of the puddling furnaces that he developed were eventually used (reportedly 8,200 by 1820) as they used a modified version of his process. He was later awarded a government pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
, but died a ruined man, and was buried in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
churchyard in London.
His son, Richard Cort, was cashier of the British Iron Company
British Iron Company
The British Iron Company was formed in 1824 to smelt and manufacture iron and to mine ironstone, coal, etc. It was re-formed as the New British Iron Company in 1843 and wound up in 1892.-British Iron Company :...
for a short period in 1825-6 and subsequently wrote several pamphlets which were severely critical of the management of the company. He also attacked a number of early railway companies.
Further reading
- R. A. Mott (ed. P. Singer), Henry Cort: the Great Finer (The Metals Society, London 1983)
- H. W. Dickinson, Henry Cort's Bicentenary, in The Newcomen Society, Transactions 1940-41, volume XXI, 1943.
External links
- Henry Cort - brief biography
- Henry Cort - another brief biography
- The Gosport Iron Foundry and Henry Cort
- Henry Cort, Father of the Iron Trade - dedicated website following 5 years of research