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Monument details

HER Number:TQ 73 SW 5
Type of record:Monument
Name:Site of Bedgebury Furnace, near Furnace Farm, Cranbrook

Summary

A furnace at Bedgebury is listed in a documentary reference of 1574 as 'Badbury' or 'Badbridge' Furnace. Numerous documentary references attest to the existence of this furnace, the last reference indicating that it was rebuilt for use in the Dutch wars in c.1664-1667. A large pond bay remains at the site and this dam has been breached by a stream at its south west end. A large working area has also bee indentified and slag, as well as tile and brick from former buildings are evident. Cartographic evidence shows that there were two buildings standing at the site in 1908 but they are thought to be later in date than the furnace. Buried remains of the furnace and its workings are anticipated at the site. Bedgebury Forge was located approximately 1km to the north west.


Grid Reference:TQ 7399 3477
Map Sheet:TQ73SW
Parish:CRANBROOK, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, KENT

Monument Types

  • BUILDING (Post Medieval to Modern - 1574 AD? to 1908 AD?)
  • IRON FURNACE (Post Medieval - 1574 AD to 1667 AD?)
  • POND BAY (Post Medieval - 1574 AD to 1667 AD?)

Associated Finds

  • BRICK (Post Medieval to Modern - 1574 AD? to 1908 AD?)
  • SLAG (Post Medieval - 1574 AD to 1667 AD?)
  • TILE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1574 AD? to 1908 AD?)
Protected Status:Scheduled Monument 1020382: THE SITE OF BEDGEBURY FURNACE, 100M SOUTH EAST OF FURNACE FARM

Full description

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[TQ 73933475] Bedgebury Furnace, Cranbrook parish. In 1574 Sir Alexander Culpepper had an 'ore furnace in Gaudherste also Badbridge furnace in Cranbrooke pishe' - in another list spelt Badbury. [Bedgebury Forge, see TQ 73 NW 6] In 1664 the furnace was 'discontinued before 1664, but repaired stocked upon account of the warre'. The furnace bay remains and some slag. Place names: Furnace Farm, Furnace Field, Minepit field and shaw. (1)

A large pondbay, in excellent condition, is centred at TQ 73993476. The probable site of the furnace house is at TQ 73943475, just below a deep breach in the bay (which is otherwise continuous) through which a stream flows. There is much furnace slag, shelly limestone and iron ore on and below the bay. Surveyed at 1/2500. (2)

The date of use is well established: it was owned by Sir Alexander Culpeper in 1574 and 1588 and was operated by John Dunnednoll of Lamberhurst in 1590. It was bought by Peter Courthorpe in 1613. John Browne, the noted gun-founder, was casting ordnance here in 1637 when there were complaints from Cranbrook about the use of his woods. George Browne was in partnership with the Herefordshire Foleys in 1657, and was casting guns in 1665 and 1673-5. It appears in the area list of 1667 as stocked for the second Dutch War. It was not listed in 1710 or 1715 (4).

The monument includes the furnace of an early post-medieval ironworks, situated within a stream of the High Weald, 2km west of Hartley village. Water powered furnace, known in documentary sources as Bedgebury, or Badbridge Furnace, survives in the form of a substantial earthen dam (or pond bay). With associated spurs and buried remains of the working area on its north western side. The furnace was established in 1574 when the site was owned by Sir Alexander Culpeper. The north east - south west aligned dam occupies the width of the valley and is breached by the stream at its south western end. The earthwork, which stands to a height of up to 4m, measures about 125m in length and is 17m wide. An earth bank or spur, projects behind the dam at its south western end and was built to protect the working area from the former spillway. A second spur, midway along its length, is thought to have been a charging bank to serve the furnace. Deposits of furnace slag, as well as brick and tile from former buildings, have been identified within the working area. Catographic evidence indicates that two buildings stood within the working area in 1908, although these may have been of a later date than the furnace. Traces of these buildings and other features associated with the operation of the furnace are expected to survive in buried form, including the foundations of the furnace stack, hearth and carried pit, as well as the wheel pit and channel, or tailrace, which carried the water away from the wheel. To the south east of the dam, beyond the area of the monument, field boundaries reflect the shape and extent of the former pond.

A fine brick bridge, faced in ashlar, spans the stream ooutside the monument at its western corner. This is believed to have been built by General Beresford in the early 19th century. Bedgebury Forge was situated about 1km to the north west of the furnace. The forge was destroyed by the subsequent construction of a railway anf Forge Farm house, and is not therefore included in the scheduling. A moated site, with possible historical connections with the ironworks, is situated about 100m to the north west of the monument, and this is the subject of a separate scheduling. (5)

Additional Info (3)
From the National Heritage List for England
Details
The monument includes the furnace of an early post-medieval ironworks, situated within a stream valley of the High Weald, 2km west of Hartley village. The water powered furnace, known in documentary sources as Bedgebury (or Badbridge) Furnace, survives in the form of a substantial earthen dam (or pond bay), with associated spurs and the buried remains of the working area on its north western side. The furnace was established by 1574 when the site was owned by Sir Alexander Culpeper. The site subsequently changed hands on several occasions and is particularly noted for the innovative gun founding activities of John Browne, who was casting ordnance here in 1637 and attracting complaints from the residents of Cranbrook about his consumption of wood. The furnace was discontinued before 1664, although it was temporarily re-stocked during the second Dutch War of 1664-67. The north east-south west aligned dam occupies the width of the valley and is breached by the stream at its south western end. The earthwork, which stands to a height of up to 4m, measures about 125m in length and is 17m wide. An earth bank, or spur, projects behind the dam at its south western end and was built to protect the working area from the former spillway. A second spur, midway along its length, is thought to have been a charging bank to serve the furnace. Deposits of furnace slag, as well as brick and tile from former buildings, have been identified within the working area. Cartographic evidence indicates that two buildings stood within the working area in 1908, although these may have been of a later date than the furnace. Traces of these buildings and other features associated with the operation of the furnace are expected to survive in buried form, including the foundations of the furnace stack, hearth and casting pit, as well as the wheel pit and channel, or tailrace, which carried the water away from the wheel. To the south east of the dam, beyond the area of the monument, field boundaries reflect the shape and extent of the former pond. A fine brick bridge, faced in ashlar, spans the stream outside the monument at its western corner. This is believed to have been built by General Beresford in the early 19th century. Bedgebury Forge was situated about 1km to the north west of the furnace. The forge was substantially destroyed by the subsequent construction of a railway and Forge Farm house, and is not therefore included in the scheduling. A moated site, with possible historical connections with the ironworks, is situated about 100m to the north west of the monument, and this is the subject of a separate scheduling. The field to the south east of the dam was used for the cultivation of hops during the mid-20th century and some of the concrete anchor points, used to secure the hop wire at ground level, remain set into the bank. These are excluded from the scheduling, along with the remains of redundant fencing, although the ground beneath and around these features is included.

Reasons for Designation
Iron has been produced in England from at least 500 BC. The iron industry, spurred on by a succession of technological developments, has played a major part in the history of the country, its production and overall importance peaking with the Industrial Revolution. Iron ores occur in a variety of forms across England, giving rise to several different extraction techniques, including open casting, seam-based mining (similar to coal mining) and underground quarrying, and resulting in a range of different structures and features at extraction sites. Ore was originally smelted into iron in small relatively low-temperature furnaces known as bloomeries. These were replaced from the 16th century by blast furnaces which were larger and operated at a higher temperature to produce molten metal for cast iron. Cast iron is brittle, and to convert it into malleable wrought iron or steel it needs to be remelted. This was originally conducted in an open hearth in a finery forge, but technological developments, especially with steel production, gave rise to more sophisticated types of furnaces. A comprehensive survey of the iron and steel industry has been conducted to identify those sites of national importance that represent the industry's chronological range, technological breadth and regional diversity. The scale of production using the water powered blast furnace was far greater than that of the bloomery, and blast furnaces and forges became widely distributed across the Weald in the post-medieval period. About 110 furnace sites have been identified so far, although none of these retain standing structures. The charcoal fired furnace functioned most efficiently if run continuously for as long as possible, and predictable supplies of ore, fuel and water were essential. Furnaces were therefore sited near to a water supply to power the bellows and in wooded areas to secure a ready supply of charcoal, but not necessarily close to ore deposits - ore being a less fragile material to transport than charcoal. In areas of relatively low rainfall, cross-valley dams were built to impound the free-flow of a stream, and this is demonstrated at Bedgebury. Essentially, a blast furnace consisted of a vertical stack, about 6m-8m high, with a hearth at its base. Air was forced into the furnace through nozzles, or tuyeres, to ensure a high temperature was maintained. The ore and charcoal were fed in at the top of the stack which was reached by means of a charging bridge or ramp. The molten iron which collects at the base of the structure was run out through a tap hole into casting pits. Impurities in the ore, or slag, floated to the top of the molten metal and were removed through another tap hole. The remains of Bedgebury Furnace survive comparatively well, and the lack of significant reuse of the site, since its abandonment in the late 17th century, will have helped to preserve the remains of components associated with its use. The charging bank and dam survive as prominent earthwork features, and the foundations of the furnace, its casting pit and components of the water supply, including the wheel pit and tailrace are expected to survive in buried form. Waterlogged remains of bellows and fragments of the water wheel may also survive, together with deposits of slag and hearth lining, enhancing our understanding of the operation of the furnace. The importance of the site is amplified further by the preservation of its landscape setting within which the relationship between the furnace and its local supply of fuel and water power can be clearly appreciated (7)


<1> Wealden Iron 1931 282 (E Straker) (OS Card Reference). SKE51295.

<2> F1 ASP 22.02.63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42225.

<3> Field report for monument TQ 73 SW 5 - February, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3721.

<4> English Heritage Monuments Protection Programme, 2000, Iron and Steel Industry Site Assessment - Bedgebury Furnace, MPP Report Step 3 (Unpublished document). SKE6621.

<5> English Heritage Designation Team, 2003, The Site of Bedgebury Furnace, 100m South East of Furnace Farm (Scheduling record). SKE11918.

<6> English Heritage, 1992, Monuments Protection Programme: The Iron And Steel Industries, Step 1 Report (Unpublished document). SKE17231.

<7> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>OS Card Reference: Wealden Iron 1931 282 (E Straker).
<2>OS Card Reference: F1 ASP 22.02.63.
<3>Bibliographic reference: Field report for monument TQ 73 SW 5 - February, 1963.
<4>XYUnpublished document: English Heritage Monuments Protection Programme. 2000. Iron and Steel Industry Site Assessment - Bedgebury Furnace. MPP Report Step 3. [Mapped feature: #238 furnace, ]
<5>Scheduling record: English Heritage Designation Team. 2003. The Site of Bedgebury Furnace, 100m South East of Furnace Farm.
<6>Unpublished document: English Heritage. 1992. Monuments Protection Programme: The Iron And Steel Industries, Step 1 Report.
<7>Scheduling record: English Heritage. Register of Scheduled Monuments.