The
North Yorkshire Moors have a history of iron working which extends back to the
Iron Age. Although modern industry has been studied in detail for Rosedale and
the Cleveland area, very little research has been undertaken into the industry's
origins. The western side of the North Yorkshire Moors has several important
sites linked to the different phases/periods of English iron-smelting
technology, focused around Rievaulx Abbey.
Over
the last eight years ironworking sites in the Rievaulx and Bilsdale area have
been surveyed. Numerous early ‘bloomery' sites have been identified; many of these
probably date from the medieval period. These bloomeries were small furnaces,
cylindrical in shape, about 0.5 m in diameter and probably less than 2m in
height. These furnaces were built of clay, fuelled by charcoal, used local ore
and were blown by hand or foot bellows. There is evidence of continued
ironworking after the dissolution of Rievaulx Abbey at Laskill in Bilsdale using
‘high' bloomery, and later charcoal blast furnace, technology. The blast
furnace was built adjacent to the Abbey ruins in 1570, and was closed circa
1670.
The
Rievaulx/Bilsdale area offers a unique opportunity to investigate these changes
in ironworking, as the focus of the ironworking activity moves southward from
Bilsdale to Rievaulx. The later sites do not overlie earlier ones, which happens
in many other iron working areas, and this provides opportunities to study the
residues from iron working that are associated with the changing methods of
producing iron.
To
investigate the ironworking landscape around Rievaulx Abbey and the changing
technology through the pre-monastic, monastic and post-monastic periods.
To
look at the ironworking landscape in relation to other crafts and industries,
such as quarrying (iron ore), woodland (charcoal) and waterpower (later furnaces
and forging).
