HOLE 12: SMELTING

THE FORGES AND FOUNDRIES:

Forges and foundries were central to Britain’s Industrial Revolution and had a direct, symbiotic connection with the coal mining industry. Their relationship helped drive the rapid industrial growth of the 19th century.

Forges:

Forges were workshops where blacksmiths heated metal (usually iron or steel) in a forge fire and hammered it into shape.

Foundries:

Foundries were industrial facilities where metal was melted and cast into moulds to make parts like wheels, engines, pipes, and tools.

Coal from mines used by forges and foundries:

Coal was the essential fuel for both forges and foundries. Coke (a purified form of coal) was used in blast furnaces to smelt iron ore into pig iron. Without coal, these metalworking industries couldn’t operate at the scale the Industrial Revolution demanded.

Equipment supplied by forges and foundries to the coal mines:

Foundries made the machinery and tools used in coal mines, such as hand tools, steam engines (to pump water out of mines), and mining carts and rails.