At Lydbrook there are the “Upper” and “Lower” works. The latter, or those nearest the Wye, are said to have belonged originally to the Foleys, one of whom was elected a free miner in 1754. Mr. Partridge carried them on for many years in connexion with the furnaces at Bishopswood, but leased them in 1817 to Mr. Allaway, at which time they comprised three forges, rolling and bar mills, and tin-house complete, capable of producing 100 to 150 boxes of tin plates per week. Under the able management of Mr. Allaway’s sons, the works now yield 600 boxes, sent off by the Wye, the iron used being that from Cinderford, as best suited for the purpose. The “Upper” works were once farmed for Lord Gage, but they now belong to Messrs. Russell, who make large quantities of wire for the electrical telegraph, as well as iron for smith’s use.
The iron-works at Sowdley are all that remain to be noticed. Here, as early as 1565, iron wire is said to have been made, being drawn by strength of hand. In 1661 Mr. Paysted states that the factory passed from Roynon Jones, Esq., of Hay Hill, into the hands of a party named Parnell and Co., who carried on the works until the year 1784, from which date to 1804 Dobbs and Taylor had them. From 1824 on to 1828 they were held by Browning, Heaven, and Tryer; but in the latter year Todd, Jeffries, and Spirrin undertook the business, converting a part of the premises into paint and brass works, which lasted for about four years. Two blast furnaces were built on the spot in 1837 by Edward Protheroe, Esq., who worked them for four years. In
1857 they were purchased by Messrs. Gibbon, and are now in blast.
Eight blast furnaces were at work in the Forest in the year 1856, and produced upwards of 24,132 tons of iron of the best quality.
It only remains to state that twenty iron-mines were awarded by the Mining Commissioners in 1841, and these are since increased to upwards of fifty, several of them comprising very extensive workings, and are furnished with very powerful pumping engines; that at Shakemantle raises 198¼ gallons per stroke, and the one at Westbury Brook 24 gallons, from a depth of 186 yards.
The annual yield of iron mine from the four principal pits is:—
| Buckshaft | 14,574 Tons. |
| Old Sling Pit | 13,263 „ |
| Westbury Brook | 11,725 „ |
| Easter Iron Mine | 10,782 „ |
The total yield from all the iron-mines in the Forest for 1856 was 109,268 tons.
CHAPTER XV.
The Forest Coal Works—The earliest allusion to them—The original method of mining for coal—Grants to the Earl of Pembroke in 1610, &c.—First attempt to char coal for the furnace—Prices for which coal was to be sold, as fixed by the “Orders” of the Court of Mine Law—Contents of the existing documents belonging to that Court described—State of the coal-works at the end of the last century—Gradual improvements in the mode of working for coal—Mr. Protheroe’s collieries—The superior character of the most recent coal-works—Amount raised in 1856 from the ten largest collieries.