Information for record number MWA6090:
Site of Forge at Furnace End Mill

Summary The site of a forge, where cast iron was made into wrought iron during the Post Medieval period. It was situated at Furnace End, 75m east of Furnace End Bridge.
What Is It?  
Type: Forge
Period: Post-medieval (1540 AD - 1750 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Over Whitacre
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 24 91
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 In 1658 Humphrey Jennings, the great iron master, possessed very extensive forges at Furnace End.
2 Poole Bank Furnace at Furnace End appears in a list of 1711 and had a capacity of 300 tons per year. Charles Blick visited the petrol station on the site of the watermill and observed some garage extensions that were being carried out. A digger disturbed a large mass of charcoal blast furnace slag about 3m wide and about 2m deep. Adjacent to this were foundations, possibly of the Furnace stack. Behind was a wheelpit, with lower courses in good ashlar. This had obviously been latterly used as a watermill, but formerly was an iron foundry.
3 The site was visited when the garage was about to be demolished in 1987 and the leat and buildings were recorded in advance of destruction.
4 Beighton has Iron mineral extraction marked at this point on his map of 1725
 
Sources
Source No: 4
Source Type: Map
Title: Beighton's Map of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Beighton
Date: 1725
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 29NW3
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1976
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 29NW3
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: HMSN ( probably Historical Metallurgy Society)
Author/originator: Blick C
Date: 1980
Page Number: 8
Volume/Sheet: 10
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Site Visit Report - Furnace End, Over Whitacre
Author/originator: Pickin J
Date: 1987
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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period Post Medieval About 1540 AD to 1750 AD (the 16th century AD to the 18th century AD)

The Post Medieval period comes after the medieval period and before the Imperial period.

This period covers the second half of the reign of the Tudors (1485 – 1603), the reign of the Stuarts (1603 – 1702) and the beginning of the reign of the Hannoverians (1714 – 1836).
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BLAST FURNACE * Smelting furnace into which compressed hot air is driven. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument IRON FOUNDRY * A workshop or foundry where iron articles are made by casting molten material into moulds. back
monument FURNACE * A chamber in which minerals, metals, etc, are subjected to the continuous action of intense heat. Use specific type where known. back
monument PETROL STATION * A place where vehicles can be filled up with petrol, oil, water, etc. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument LEAT * Artificial water channel, usually leading to a mill. back
monument WATERMILL * A mill whose machinery is driven by water. back
monument GARAGE * Use only for buildings which house motor vehicles. Includes garages for vehicle repair. For petrol sales use PETROL STATION. back
monument FORGE * A building or site where bloom iron or cast iron is forged into wrought iron. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record