Smeltmill
Encyclopedia
Smeltmills were water-powered mills used to smelt
lead
or other metals.
The older method of smelting lead on wind-blown bole hill
s began to be superseded by artificially-blown smelters. The first such furnace was built by Burchard Kranich at Makeney, Derbyshire
in 1554, but produced less good lead than the older bole hill. William Humfrey
(the Queen's assay master), and a leading shareholder in the Company of Mineral and Battery Works
introduced the ore hearth from the Mendips
about 1577. This was initially blown by a foot-blast, but was soon developed into a water-powered smelt mill at Beauchief (now a suburb of Sheffield
).
A typical smelt mill had an orehearth and a slaghearth, the latter being used to reprocess slags from the orehearth in order to recover further lead from the slag
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
or other metals.
The older method of smelting lead on wind-blown bole hill
Bole hill
A Bole hill was a place where lead was formerly smelted in the open air.The bole was usually situated at or near the top of a hill where the wind was strong. Totley Bole Hill on the western fringes of Sheffield consisted of a long low wall with two shorter walls at right angles to it at each end...
s began to be superseded by artificially-blown smelters. The first such furnace was built by Burchard Kranich at Makeney, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
in 1554, but produced less good lead than the older bole hill. William Humfrey
William Humfrey
William Humfrey was a goldsmith and Assay Master to Queen Elizabeth I of England.He had a patent from the Queen for the mining of various ores and the extraction of metals from their ores. These rights were transferred to the Company of Mineral and Battery Works in which he was a leading...
(the Queen's assay master), and a leading shareholder in the Company of Mineral and Battery Works
Company of Mineral and Battery Works
The Company of Mineral and Battery Works was, , one of two mining monopolies created by Queen Elizabeth I of England in the mid-1560s. The Company's rights were based on a patent granted to William Humfrey on 17 September 1565. This was replaced on 28 May 1568 by a patent of incorporation, making...
introduced the ore hearth from the Mendips
Mendips
*Mendip, a local government district of Somerset, UK**Mendip Hills , a group of hills in the above district**Chewton Mendip, a village in the Mendip Hills**Mendip TV Mast, a transmitter in the Mendips area...
about 1577. This was initially blown by a foot-blast, but was soon developed into a water-powered smelt mill at Beauchief (now a suburb of Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
).
A typical smelt mill had an orehearth and a slaghearth, the latter being used to reprocess slags from the orehearth in order to recover further lead from the slag
Slag
Slag is a partially vitreous by-product of smelting ore to separate the metal fraction from the unwanted fraction. It can usually be considered to be a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides and metal atoms in the elemental form...
Further reading
- L. Willies, 'Lead: ore preparation and smelting' in J. Day and R. F. Tylecote, The Industrial Revolution in Metals (Institute of Metals, London 1991), 93-102.
- Various articles in L. Willies and D. Cranstone (eds.), Boles and Smeltmills (Historical Metallurgy Society, 1992).
- M. B. Donald, Elizabethan Monolopies (Oliver & Boyd Edinburgh 1961), 142-78.
- See also Derbyshire lead mining historyDerbyshire lead mining historyThis article details some of the history of lead mining in Derbyshire, England.- Background :On one of the walls in Wirksworth church is a crude stone carving, found nearby at Bonsall and placed in the church in the 1870s. Probably executed in Anglo-Saxon times, it shows a man carrying a kibble or...
.