Bedlington Ironworks
| Bedlington Ironworks | |
|---|---|
 Bedlington Ironworks
 Bedlington Ironworks shown within Northumberland |
|
| OS grid reference | NZ265809 |
| Coordinates | 55°07′19″N 1°35′10″W / 55.122°N 1.586°WCoordinates: 55°07′19″N 1°35′10″W / 55.122°N 1.586°W |
|
|
Bedlington Ironworks, in Blyth Dene, Northumberland, England, operated between 1736 and 1867. It is most remembered as the place where wrought iron rails were invented by John Birkinshaw in 1820, which triggered the railway age, with their first major use being in the opened in 1825, about 45 miles (72 km) to the south.
Blyth Dene, near Bedlington, was an idyllic location next to the River Blyth which had all the right ingredients for an ironworks at the time: there were nodules of ironstone in the coal laden banks of the river, there was plenty of wood for the traditional approach of charcoal making, water for driving the hammers, and the port of Blyth was only two miles downriver for shipping of the products. At the time, a Shropshire man, Abraham Darby had started a revolution in ironmaking by using coke instead of charcoal. The Bedlington ironworks originally consisted of two elements – a mill in Bebside and a furnace at Bedlington Mill
A lease of 50 acres (20 ha) on the Bebside side of the river was taken in 1736 by William Thomlinson, an established ironmaster from Skinnerburn in Newcastle upon Tyne, though he died in 1737 before the works was properly established. By 1757, when it was sold again, there was a slitting mill which employed 40 nailers, a quay on the Bedlington side of the river and a "commodious dwelling house, fit for a gentleman's family consisting of ten fine rooms, four of which are hung with genteel papers, with good cellars, a stable, large garden and other conveniences". In 1782 (or 1792) the works, which by then were producing 500 long tons (510 t) of rod iron and iron hoops per year and exporting as far away as London. They introduced a rolling mill and the nailing business which had separated out steadily declined in importance.
The ancient corn mill at Bedlington was taken over in 1759 by Malings & Co of Sunderland, who built a blast furnace for foundry work. However they did not do well. Later there was a forge driven by a huge water wheel and a puddling furnace which needed the coal that was all around.
...
Wikipedia