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Monument details

HER Number:	TQ 64 SE 4
Type of record:	Monument
Name:	Site of Horsmonden furnace, Horsmonden and Brenchley

Summary

An iron furnace is recorded at this location in documentary sources from 1574 and 1699. In 1699 a casting cannon is referred to indicating this may have been the site of a boring mill. It was a gun-casting furnace through most of its existence. The pond bay remains and is water filled. Below the bay there is a great accumulation of slag, brick, tile and a "bear" (a large accumulation of slag and waste from the furnace). The elaborate spillway may be of a later date than the furnace which was probably disused before 1717.

Grid Reference:	TQ 6947 4122
Map Sheet:	TQ64SE
Parish:	BRENCHLEY, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, KENT
	HORSMONDEN, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, KENT

Monument Types

CANNON BORING MILL (Post Medieval - 1574 AD? to 1717 AD?)
IRON FURNACE (Post Medieval - 1574 AD? to 1717 AD?)
POND (Post Medieval to Modern - 1574 AD to 2050 AD)

Associated Finds

BRICK (Post Medieval - 1574 AD? to 1717 AD?)
SLAG (Post Medieval - 1574 AD? to 1717 AD?)
TILE (Post Medieval - 1574 AD? to 1717 AD?)

Protected Status:	Selected Heritage Inventory for Natural England: Site of Medieval iron furnace and associated stream channel, east of Furnace Pond

Full description

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[TQ 69434110] An Iron furnace was situated at Lat. 51 deg. 8' 35" N.,Long. 0 deg. 25' 20" E. The pond is still in existence and below the bay there is a great accumulation of slag and a "bear". The elaborate spillway may be of a later date than the furnace which was probably disused before 1717. It is mentioned in 1574 and 1669. Place names: Furnace Pond Field, Little Furnace Field. (1) Iron furnace as described by Straker. The 'bear' and a heavy scatter of brick, tile and slag at TQ 69494120 probably indicates the site of the furnace house. Published survey 25" correct. (2) TQ 695412, Horsmonden Furnace, Brenchley, Water-powered. The water- filled pond bay is 135m long and 4.0m high with the spillway at the southern end. (3) A gun-casting furnace through most of its existence. The date of construction is not known but in 1574 it was owned by Thomas Bartell or Brattle. In 1604 Thomas Brown had taken over operations and the Browns' involvement lasted until 1668. During this time it was as important as any ordnance works in the Weald. The only later reference is to the Harrisons boring mill at Horsmonden but it is uncertain whether this was at the former furnace pond or somewhere else in the parish. (Authority 4 includes a distribution map of Wealden, parishes with extant ironworks in 1574 including Horsmonden). (4)

<1> Wealden Iron 1931 34-6 92 280-1 (E Straker) (OS Card Reference). SKE51301.

<2> F1 CFW 21-MAR-63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42690.

<3> The Iron Ind of the Weald 1985 Index Gas (Henry Cleere and David Crossley) (OS Card Reference). SKE50396.

<4> Hist Met Soc Newsl 8 Winter 1980 4-8 (OS Card Reference). SKE43909.

<5> Field report for monument TQ 64 SE 4 - March, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3258.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref.	Source description
<1>	OS Card Reference: Wealden Iron 1931 34-6 92 280-1 (E Straker).
<2>	OS Card Reference: F1 CFW 21-MAR-63.
<3>XY	OS Card Reference: The Iron Ind of the Weald 1985 Index Gas (Henry Cleere and David Crossley). [Mapped feature: #11689 furnace, ]
<4>	OS Card Reference: Hist Met Soc Newsl 8 Winter 1980 4-8.
<5>	Bibliographic reference: Field report for monument TQ 64 SE 4 - March, 1963.