Peter King wrote:
> Thank you for pointing out the evidence for later production. However this
> still does not explain the absence of iron production for at least 500 years
> before 1850.
Lack of evidence in archaeology does not necessarily mean evidence of
lack. Given our current state of knowledge regarding iron production of
all periods along the Jurassic Ridge, it would not surprise me if much
more later medieval and post-medieval sites still await identification.
The more so as many production sites in the area are notoriously
difficult to date without scientific methods. Most have been
investigated without their settlement context, if at all. The evidence
in Northamptonshire is very likely to continue beyond the 1350s: e.g.
there is a small manorial hall of 14th to 15th cent. date at Gretton, a
site with multiple evidence for iron production from at least Roman
times (perhaps already from the Iron Age). One of the forge villages,
Geddington, gained a market in the 13th century and this status may well
have lasted for more than 100 years. Bell-pits have been discovered in
Rockingham Forest, but again they are difficult to date. In the Weald,
they belong to the medieval to post-medieval period.
If one looks at the Framework texts again they will point out that iron
production in the region in the post-medieval period moved over to the
north-west Leicestershire/Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire area, where Michael
is working. This shift relates to the exploitation of the area's coal
fields from at least medieval times, and perhaps this tells us something
about the availability of suitable ore and fuel sources in
Northamptonshire. Iron production often appears to be a monastic thing
at the time but, as a Romanist, I do not know enough about the
ecclesiastical history of both iron production and Northamptonshire.
However, many Roman and Anglo-Saxon smelting sites in the county
subsequently became medieval monastic sites. Perhaps this again might be
an indication of where and how iron production continued. Yet it is
difficult to prove this in the field - precise archaeological dating
evidence remains a problem. What we certainly need is a thorough
assessment of the documentary evidence, tied in with the archaeology of
iron production along the Jurassic Ridge.
Irene
--
Irene Schrüfer-Kolb MA, PhD, AIFA
http://physics.open.ac.uk/~uckolb/isk
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