Peter
Sorry I misread what you wrote. Am I therefor correct in associating
double air furnaces with cannon production? That had been my reading
of English sources. But I defer to your greater familiarity. You've
been a tremendous help to date.
Virginia did have a number of towns primarily on the rivers. With
larger ones, like Fredericksburg on the "fallline", that is the head
of navigation due to falls and rapids. This marked the western end of
Tidewater or the coastal plain and the beginning of the Piedmont.
Many ironmasters owned sloops or even small fleets of coastal ships so
that they could market their goods throughout Tidewater and up and
down the coast to other colonies. When John Tayloe (owner/operator/
partner) of Bristol IW, Occoquan IW, and Neabsco IW died he
specifically mentioned his ships as needed to support furnace
operations.
On Jul 6, 2008, at 11:53 AM, Peter King wrote:
> I said that Coalbrookdale had several air furnaces, rather than that
> they
> had a double one. Foundries were often located in towns. My
> assumption is
> that it was convenient to make the goods were the order was received
> rather
> than at a remote location - at the blast furnace. My calculations in
> respect of Coalbrookdale suggest that it was cheaper to make goods
> with iron
> tapped straight from the blast furnace, so that the Upper Air Furnace
> (probably near the Old blast furnace) was in use all the time; the
> New Air
> Furnace only when a blast furnace was out of blast; and the Lower Air
> Furnace was hardly used between 1724 and 1738.
>
> As I understand it, commercial life in Virginia centred on stores on
> the sea
> shore (including Chesapeake Bay), there being no towns.
> Accordingly, a
> place on the shore (or a river bank) would occupy a similar
> commercial role
> to an English town. Nevertheless, foundries were rare in England
> until at
> least the late 18th century, when foundry cupolas began to be used
> instead
> of air furnaces.
>
> Peter King
> 49, Stourbridge Road,
> Hagley,
> Stourbridge
> West Midlands
> DY9 0QS
> 01562-720368
> [log in to unmask]
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