A Victorian Pipe Kiln in Lewes, by N. E. S. Norris, published 1970 in The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 4, article, pp.168-170) View Online
A Sixteenth-Century Wealden Blast Furnace: A Report on Excavations at Panningridge, Sussex, 1964-1970, by David Crossley, published 1972 in The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 6, article, pp.42-68) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502347] View Online
Abstract:The excavation recovered evidence for two periods of iron smelting; there were substantial surviving structures from a blast furnace thought from documentary sources to have produced pig-iron from 1542 until at least 1563 and, superimposed, indications of a later furnace built with major changes in layout at some time after 1563 but abandoned well before 1611. It was possible to compare, in particular, the application of water-power in the two periods and to sample ore and cast iron. The features of the first furnace could be related to references in surviving account books, and thus a yardstick may be offered for future fieldwork on undocumented furnaces of the period.
Cannon-Manufacture at Pippingford, Sussex: The Excavation of Two Iron Furnaces of c. 1717, by David Crossley, published 1975 in The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 9, article, pp.1-37) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502341] View Online
Abstract:Two blast furnaces produced iron at Pippingford Park, Sussex (TQ/4503l6) in the early 18th century. At the first to be built (the west furnace) guns were cast; this was excavated in 1974, although its surroundings remain to be explored. A boring mill was sited close to the east furnace, the wheels of the boring carriage being in situ on their tracks. The east furnace was construded during the life of the west site, and the surviving casting beds showed that pig iron had been produced. Robbing of stone had been severe in the case of the east furnace, in contrast to its predecessor, whose rubble core survived 1-1.5 m. in height, and whose gun-casting pit was in good order.
A Wealden Cannon-Boring Bar [at Stream Mill, Chiddingly], by D. S. Butler and C. F. Tebbutt, published 1975 in The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 9, article, pp.38-41) View Online
The Excavation of Ardingly Fulling Mill and Forge 1975-6, by Owen Bedwin, published 1976 in The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 10, article, pp.34-64) View Online
Abstract:The remains of a sixteenth- and seventeenth-century forge, and an eighteenth-century fulling mill were excavated. The fulling and forging processes were both water-powered. Two water-channels were found, running approximately parallel, about 9 m. apart. The area between the two channels had been the centre of industrial activity on the site. The forge, of which little survived apart from the anvil base and some wooden foundations, had used wheels in both channels, driving the power-hammer and bellows for the hearths, respectively. Fulling, carried out in a simple T-shaped shed, required one wheel only. The site went out of use c.1750.
Review by C. F. T. [C. F. Tebbutt] in Wealden Iron Research Group Bulletin 11 1977:In 1973 the Mid-Sussex Water Co. gave notice of a plan, later approved, to flood the Shell Brook valley at the site of Ardingly Fulling Mill and Forge, and a rescue excavation was carried out by Dr Owen Bedwin of the Sussex Archaeological Field Unit in advance of the destruction of the site.
Documentary evidence in parish records first refers to the baptism of a child of Robert Potter 'fynar of the hammer' in 1571, and thereafter references go on until 1660. The 1574 list includes Ardingly Forge, as does that of 1664, but it seems to have ceased working by 1717. It seems likely that its source of pig iron was the nearby Strudgate Furnace.
The excavation was not a straightforward one as the fulling mill had been established on the same site, probably in the early 18th century, and was itself likely to have ceased working in the next century. It was clear however that for the forge there were two parallel water channels supplying power, one to the two hearths and one to the hammer, for which the timber (tree-trunk) anvil-base was found. The fulling mill required one channel only, and this had been partly reconstructed during its occupation of the site. Useful comparisons are made with the only other excavated wealden forge site, that at Chingley. (D. W. Crossley, The Bewl Valley Ironworks Kent, Royal Archaeological Institute Monograph (1975) ).
At Chingley one channel supplied power via different wheels for both hammer and chafery hearth, and the other for the finery. At Ardingly both hearths were operated from one channel and the hammer from the other. As at Chingley there was evidence of secondary working, and it appeared that artifacts such as scissors and knives were made at the forge.
The finds were surprisingly numerous, the waterlogged state of much of the site making it favourable for the preservation of leather, and many shoes and parts of shoes were recovered. Clay pipes were also abundant. These are now proving an important dating item in post-Medieval excavations.
Documentary evidence in parish records first refers to the baptism of a child of Robert Potter 'fynar of the hammer' in 1571, and thereafter references go on until 1660. The 1574 list includes Ardingly Forge, as does that of 1664, but it seems to have ceased working by 1717. It seems likely that its source of pig iron was the nearby Strudgate Furnace.
The excavation was not a straightforward one as the fulling mill had been established on the same site, probably in the early 18th century, and was itself likely to have ceased working in the next century. It was clear however that for the forge there were two parallel water channels supplying power, one to the two hearths and one to the hammer, for which the timber (tree-trunk) anvil-base was found. The fulling mill required one channel only, and this had been partly reconstructed during its occupation of the site. Useful comparisons are made with the only other excavated wealden forge site, that at Chingley. (D. W. Crossley, The Bewl Valley Ironworks Kent, Royal Archaeological Institute Monograph (1975) ).
At Chingley one channel supplied power via different wheels for both hammer and chafery hearth, and the other for the finery. At Ardingly both hearths were operated from one channel and the hammer from the other. As at Chingley there was evidence of secondary working, and it appeared that artifacts such as scissors and knives were made at the forge.
The finds were surprisingly numerous, the waterlogged state of much of the site making it favourable for the preservation of leather, and many shoes and parts of shoes were recovered. Clay pipes were also abundant. These are now proving an important dating item in post-Medieval excavations.
The Pippingford Cannon: New Data, by D. W. Crossley, published 1977 in The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 11, article, p.106) View Online
Some New Dating Evidence for Pippingford Furnace, Sussex, by C. F. Tebbutt, published 1977 in The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 11, article, p.106) View Online
The excavation of a 16th-century pottery kiln at Lower Parrock, Hartfield, East Sussex, 1977, by D. J. Freke, C. R. Cartwright, A. Clark, J. Craddock, A. D. F. Streeten and H. A. Waldron, published 1979 in The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 13, article, pp.79-125) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/501323] View Online
Abstract:The excavation of an early 16th-century pottery kiln is described. The method of excavation and the analysis of the excavated material were planned to test sampling procedures which may be used on more complex sites. The link between the kiln and the local iron industry was also investigated, and it is suggested that the potter was French.