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97-566: The colliery and pithead baths complex are on Historic England 's Heritage at Risk Register due to being in very bad condition and not in use. In September 2019, it was named on the Victorian Society 's list of the top ten most endangered buildings in England and Wales. The date at which coal was first mined systematically in the Whitfield area is not known, but there are references to mining in

194-408: A steam engine replaced a horse-powered pump in 1742. Such engines were used to pump water to a reservoir above the furnace. The first engines used to blow cylinders directly was supplied by Boulton and Watt to John Wilkinson 's New Willey Furnace. This powered a cast iron blowing cylinder , which had been invented by his father Isaac Wilkinson . He patented such cylinders in 1736, to replace

291-833: A German design and is unique in British coal mining. It is believed that the German construction workers were interned during the First World War. The shaft was named after the Company’s Mining Engineer, Robert Winstanley. As a direct result, the Prince Albert shaft, located behind the present Hesketh shaft and the Engine Pit, located between the newly sunk Winstanley shaft and the Middle Pit, were closed and filled. The Winstanley shaft

388-542: A blast furnace to melt the iron and remove the gangue (impurities) unless the ore is very high quality. The oxygen blast furnace (OBF) process has been extensively studied theoretically because of the potentials of promising energy conservation and CO 2 emission reduction. This type may be the most suitable for use with CCS. The main blast furnace has of three levels; the reduction zone (523–973 K (250–700 °C; 482–1,292 °F)), slag formation zone (1,073–1,273 K (800–1,000 °C; 1,472–1,832 °F)), and

485-425: A blast furnace, a downward-moving column of ore, flux, coke (or charcoal ) and their reaction products must be sufficiently porous for the flue gas to pass through, upwards. To ensure this permeability the particle size of the coke or charcoal is of great relevance. Therefore, the coke must be strong enough so it will not be crushed by the weight of the material above it. Besides the physical strength of its particles,

582-470: A blast furnace, flue gas is in direct contact with the ore and iron, allowing carbon monoxide to diffuse into the ore and reduce the iron oxide. The blast furnace operates as a countercurrent exchange process whereas a bloomery does not. Another difference is that bloomeries operate as a batch process whereas blast furnaces operate continuously for long periods. Continuous operation is also preferred because blast furnaces are difficult to start and stop. Also,

679-435: A day. His six horses each carried between two and three hundredweights of coal along lanes which were impassable to wagons. These draughts of coal were each worth about seven pence (3p) and Leigh received one shilling (5p) a day for his services. In 1838, Thomas Hargreaves conducted a survey and valuation of the colliery at Whitfield on behalf of its proprietors, representatives of the late William Harrison. At this time there

776-644: A depth of 640 yards (585 metres). It was named after Colonel George Hesketh who was the Chairman of the Board of Directors. A massive horizontal steam winding engine, which still exists, was installed by the Worsley Mesnes company of Manchester in the Winding Engine House to become one of the principal coal winding shafts. A new power house was also constructed as part of the complex. In 1923 the original parallel drum

873-565: A fining hearth. Although cast iron farm tools and weapons were widespread in China by the 5th century BC , employing workforces of over 200 men in iron smelters from the 3rd century onward, the earliest blast furnaces constructed were attributed to the Han dynasty in the 1st century AD. These early furnaces had clay walls and used phosphorus -containing minerals as a flux . Chinese blast furnaces ranged from around two to ten meters in height, depending on

970-649: A great period of expansion began, so much so that by 1899 the colliery produced in excess of 950,000 tons of saleable coal. The fortunes of the Chatterley Iron Company began to decline as a result and operations at the Chatterley site had ceased by the early part of the 20th century. The dawn of the 20th century, however, promised a great future for Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. In the 21st century, many local people still refer to it by its old name of Whitfield Colliery. The colliery continued to prosper but, following

1067-472: A minor branch of the industry, but Darby's son built a new furnace at nearby Horsehay, and began to supply the owners of finery forges with coke pig iron for the production of bar iron. Coke pig iron was by this time cheaper to produce than charcoal pig iron. The use of a coal-derived fuel in the iron industry was a key factor in the British Industrial Revolution . However, in many areas of

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1164-451: A minor explosion in 1912 which fortunately resulted in no fatalities, it became obvious that additional ventilation was required. It was therefore decided to sink a new ventilation shaft and work commenced in April 1913. The shaft was 5 yards (5 metres) in diameter and 700 feet deep (213 metres). It was completed in 1914. The heapstead and winding engine house were constructed entirely of brick to

1261-450: A model factory, often as large as the church and only several feet away, and waterpower drove the machinery of the various industries located on its floor." Iron ore deposits were often donated to the monks along with forges to extract the iron, and after a time surpluses were offered for sale. The Cistercians became the leading iron producers in Champagne , France, from the mid-13th century to

1358-745: A modern office block was constructed to replace the old Head Offices of the Company in Pinnox Street in Tunstall and most staff were transferred to Whitfield. Those remaining at Pinnox Street dealt with the transfer of loaded and unload trains to the North Staffordshire Railway in Tunstall . This also brought to an end the Saturday ‘Pay Train’ whereby the wages were taken from Pinnox Street to Whitfield for payment on Saturday afternoon. The colliery pay week

1455-653: A new upcast shaft to replace the Laura was sunk to the Cockshead seam. The latter shaft was completed in 1883 and named the Platt Pit after one of the Directors of the Company. In 1884 the company was again beset by heavy financial difficulties and an application was made to the Court for permission for its closure. The application was eventually withdrawn, the company’s affairs being placed under

1552-463: A relatively high carbon content of around 4–5% and usually contains too much sulphur, making it very brittle, and of limited immediate commercial use. Some pig iron is used to make cast iron . The majority of pig iron produced by blast furnaces undergoes further processing to reduce the carbon and sulphur content and produce various grades of steel used for construction materials, automobiles, ships and machinery. Desulphurisation usually takes place during

1649-504: Is a countercurrent exchange and chemical reaction process. In contrast, air furnaces (such as reverberatory furnaces ) are naturally aspirated, usually by the convection of hot gases in a chimney flue . According to this broad definition, bloomeries for iron, blowing houses for tin , and smelt mills for lead would be classified as blast furnaces. However, the term has usually been limited to those used for smelting iron ore to produce pig iron , an intermediate material used in

1746-428: Is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron , but also others such as lead or copper . Blast refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure . In a blast furnace, fuel ( coke ), ores , and flux ( limestone ) are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while a hot blast of air (sometimes with oxygen enrichment)

1843-531: Is believed to have produced cast iron quite efficiently. Its date is not yet clear, but it probably did not survive until Henry VIII 's Dissolution of the Monasteries in the late 1530s, as an agreement (immediately after that) concerning the "smythes" with the Earl of Rutland in 1541 refers to blooms. Nevertheless, the means by which the blast furnace spread in medieval Europe has not finally been determined. Due to

1940-463: Is blown into the lower section of the furnace through a series of pipes called tuyeres , so that the chemical reactions take place throughout the furnace as the material falls downward. The end products are usually molten metal and slag phases tapped from the bottom, and waste gases ( flue gas ) exiting from the top of the furnace. The downward flow of the ore along with the flux in contact with an upflow of hot, carbon monoxide -rich combustion gases

2037-597: Is fairly certain that he was working the Cockshead and Seven Feet Banbury seams at the Ridgeway footrails . It is also probable that he was using the Bellringer shaft, which was 79 yards deep, to work the Bellringer seam and the Ragman and Engine shafts. Each of these shafts was 50 yards (46 metres) deep and these were used to work the Ragman seam. In 1854 the local coalmasters forced the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) to construct

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2134-458: Is possible that the technology reached Sweden by this means. The Vikings are known to have used double bellows, which greatly increases the volumetric flow of the blast. The Caspian region may also have been the source for the design of the furnace at Ferriere , described by Filarete , involving a water-powered bellows at Semogo in Valdidentro in northern Italy in 1226. In a two-stage process

2231-586: Is the responsibility of local planning authorities and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities . Historic England also owns the National Heritage Collection of nationally important historic sites, currently in public care. It does not run these sites as this function is instead carried out by the English Heritage Trust under licence until 2023. The Secretary of State at

2328-523: The Biddulph Valley branch line after proposing to build the railway themselves, a situation which the NSR did not favour. Work on the construction of the railway did not start until 1858, the line being partly opened for mineral traffic in 1859, and completed in 1860, passing within half a mile of Whitfield. Anticipating the completion of the railway, Hugh Henshall Williamson sank the Prince Albert shaft to work

2425-499: The British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport . It is tasked with protecting the historic environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings , scheduling ancient monuments , registering historic parks and gardens , advising central and local government, and promoting the public's enjoyment of, and advancing their knowledge of, ancient monuments and historic buildings. The body

2522-757: The Chinese examples, were very inefficient compared to those used today. The iron from the Lapphyttan complex was used to produce balls of wrought iron known as osmonds , and these were traded internationally – a possible reference occurs in a treaty with Novgorod from 1203 and several certain references in accounts of English customs from the 1250s and 1320s. Other furnaces of the 13th to 15th centuries have been identified in Westphalia . The technology required for blast furnaces may have either been transferred from China, or may have been an indigenous innovation. Al-Qazvini in

2619-627: The Historic England Archive from the former English Heritage, and projects linked to the archive such as Britain from Above, which saw the archive work with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland to digitise, catalogue and put online 96,000 of the oldest Aerofilms images. The archive also houses various national collections, including

2716-526: The Industrial Revolution . Hot blast was patented by James Beaumont Neilson at Wilsontown Ironworks in Scotland in 1828. Within a few years of the introduction, hot blast was developed to the point where fuel consumption was cut by one-third using coke or two-thirds using coal, while furnace capacity was also significantly increased. Within a few decades, the practice was to have a "stove" as large as

2813-529: The Ironbridge Gorge Museums. Cast iron from the furnace was used to make girders for the world's first cast iron bridge in 1779. The Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn at Coalbrookdale and remains in use for pedestrians. The steam engine was applied to power blast air, overcoming a shortage of water power in areas where coal and iron ore were located. This was first done at Coalbrookdale where

2910-481: The Lehigh Crane Iron Company at Catasauqua, Pennsylvania , in 1839. Anthracite use declined when very high capacity blast furnaces requiring coke were built in the 1870s. The blast furnace remains an important part of modern iron production. Modern furnaces are highly efficient, including Cowper stoves to pre-heat the blast air and employ recovery systems to extract the heat from the hot gases exiting

3007-855: The fuel efficiency of the bloomery and improves yield. They can also be built bigger than natural draught bloomeries. The oldest known blast furnaces in the West were built in Durstel in Switzerland , the Märkische Sauerland in Germany , and at Lapphyttan in Sweden , where the complex was active between 1205 and 1300. At Noraskog in the Swedish parish of Järnboås, traces of even earlier blast furnaces have been found, possibly from around 1100. These early blast furnaces, like

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3104-636: The 13th century and other travellers subsequently noted an iron industry in the Alburz Mountains to the south of the Caspian Sea . This is close to the silk route , so that the use of technology derived from China is conceivable. Much later descriptions record blast furnaces about three metres high. As the Varangian Rus' people from Scandinavia traded with the Caspian (using their Volga trade route ), it

3201-411: The 1550s, and many were built in the remainder of that century and the following ones. The output of the industry probably peaked about 1620, and was followed by a slow decline until the early 18th century. This was apparently because it was more economic to import iron from Sweden and elsewhere than to make it in some more remote British locations. Charcoal that was economically available to the industry

3298-495: The 17th century, also using the phosphate -rich slag from their furnaces as an agricultural fertilizer . Archaeologists are still discovering the extent of Cistercian technology. At Laskill , an outstation of Rievaulx Abbey and the only medieval blast furnace so far identified in Britain , the slag produced was low in iron content. Slag from other furnaces of the time contained a substantial concentration of iron, whereas Laskill

3395-479: The 4th century AD. The primary advantage of the early blast furnace was in large scale production and making iron implements more readily available to peasants. Cast iron is more brittle than wrought iron or steel, which required additional fining and then cementation or co-fusion to produce, but for menial activities such as farming it sufficed. By using the blast furnace, it was possible to produce larger quantities of tools such as ploughshares more efficiently than

3492-559: The 5th century BC, but the earliest extant blast furnaces in China date to the 1st century AD and in the West from the High Middle Ages . They spread from the region around Namur in Wallonia (Belgium) in the late 15th century, being introduced to England in 1491. The fuel used in these was invariably charcoal. The successful substitution of coke for charcoal is widely attributed to English inventor Abraham Darby in 1709. The efficiency of

3589-497: The 8-ton-capacity wagons are in use for local traffic only. Number of railway wagons repaired from January to June 1930 = 87 Number of men and boys employed on wagon repairs = 41 Total wages paid for railway wagon repairs in same six-month period = £2,475 4/3d Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England ) is an executive non-departmental public body of

3686-553: The Cockshead seam. As the output of coal at Whitfield increased, it became necessary to improve the coal transport system. Despite opposition from the North Staffordshire Railway, the company started to construct a private railway in 1873 to run from Whitfield to Pinnox Junction where sidings were to join up with the lower Tunstall Branch of the NS Railway. The line was finally completed in 1878 and considerably reduced

3783-512: The Corsican, was used prior to the advent of Christianity . Examples of improved bloomeries are the Stuckofen, sometimes called wolf-furnace, which remained until the beginning of the 19th century. Instead of using natural draught, air was pumped in by a trompe , resulting in better quality iron and an increased capacity. This pumping of air in with bellows is known as cold blast , and it increases

3880-592: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport appoints members of the Commission, which is the governing board of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England and oversees the work of Historic England. Since September 2023, the chair of the Commission is Lord Mendoza . The body is run by an executive team, led since the 2015 restructuring by Duncan Wilson . Blast furnace A blast furnace

3977-785: The Engine Pit for all the workings in the Middle Pit. Diameter of the shaft – sixteen feet with steel rope guides. 110 yards to the decking level, upcast shaft along with the Winstanley shaft for all the workings in the Middle pit. Diameter of the shaft – nine feet. 15 Hand-fired. Lancashire boilers , permissible working pressure = 100 lbs. Only 12 boilers in use normally. Number of stokers required per 24 hours = 24. Number of coal and ash men required per 24 hours = 18 Total number of men required to man these boilers per 24 hours = 42 5 Hand-fired. Lancashire boilers, permissible working pressure = 200 lbs. Only 4 boilers normally in use. Cost of working

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4074-587: The Holly Lane and Hardmine seams and another shaft to work both the Bowling Alley and Ten Feet seams. On the opening of the railway he immediately constructed his own rail link from the shafts at Whitfield and footrails at Ridgeway, to Chell Sidings alongside the NSR Biddulph Valley Line. Wagons loaded with coal were lowered by brake down to the sidings and horses were used to haul empty wagons back up to

4171-539: The Whitfield Colliery on behalf of his company. On taking over, the new owners lost no time in starting a project to develop workings in the rich Cockshead seam of coal, and in 1874 they began to widen and deepen the old Bellringer shaft to a depth of 440 yards. Shortly after the sinking work began, the North Staffordshire Institute of Mining Engineers made a visit to the colliery, and to commemorate

4268-463: The air pass up through the furnace as fresh feed material travels down into the reaction zone. As the material travels downward, the counter-current gases both preheat the feed charge and decompose the limestone to calcium oxide and carbon dioxide: The calcium oxide formed by decomposition reacts with various acidic impurities in the iron (notably silica ), to form a fayalitic slag which is essentially calcium silicate , Ca Si O 3 : As

4365-432: The blast furnace, such as the Swedish electric blast furnace, have been developed in countries which have no native coal resources. According to Global Energy Monitor , the blast furnace is likely to become obsolete to meet climate change objectives of reducing carbon dioxide emission, but BHP disagrees. An alternative process involving direct reduced iron (DRI) is likely to succeed it, but this also needs to use

4462-475: The bloomery. In areas where quality was important, such as warfare, wrought iron and steel were preferred. Nearly all Han period weapons are made of wrought iron or steel, with the exception of axe-heads, of which many are made of cast iron. Blast furnaces were also later used to produce gunpowder weapons such as cast iron bomb shells and cast iron cannons during the Song dynasty . The simplest forge , known as

4559-511: The boilers per 24-hour period = £109.00 1. Katie , six wheels, purchased in 1876 2. Alice , six wheels, purchased in 1876 3. Pollie , six wheels, purchased in 1881 4. Dolly , four wheels, purchased in 1891 5. Roger , six wheels, purchased in 1896 6. Phoenix , four wheels, purchased in 1899 7. Edward , six wheels, purchased in 1902 8. Alexandra , six wheels, purchased in 1910 9. George , six wheels, purchased in 1910 10. Minnie , six wheels, purchased in 1912 Number of Railway Wagons 426 of

4656-415: The carbon in pig iron lowers the melting point below that of steel or pure iron; in contrast, iron does not melt in a bloomery. Silica has to be removed from the pig iron. It reacts with calcium oxide (burned limestone) and forms silicates, which float to the surface of the molten pig iron as slag. Historically, to prevent contamination from sulfur, the best quality iron was produced with charcoal. In

4753-490: The coal workings became deeper, ventilation was a major problem, especially in seams giving off large quantities of the highly explosive gas methane . In 1868 the Whitfield colliers were still using candles, an obviously dangerous practice. Hugh Henshall Williamson died in December 1867. In November of that year, just before his death, the colliery changed hands and a group known as the ‘Gentlemen of Tunstall’ took it over, forming

4850-470: The coke must also be low in sulfur, phosphorus , and ash. The main chemical reaction producing the molten iron is: This reaction might be divided into multiple steps, with the first being that preheated air blown into the furnace reacts with the carbon in the form of coke to produce carbon monoxide and heat: Hot carbon monoxide is the reducing agent for the iron ore and reacts with the iron oxide to produce molten iron and carbon dioxide . Depending on

4947-404: The colliery with its first canteen facilities and work began on a new lamp room to house the heavy electric lamps which were gradually being introduced and used in addition to the conventional oil safety lamps . The late 1920s and early 1930s were difficult times for colliery owners and miners alike. During the general strike of 1926 , convoys of motor lorries travelled to Whitfield from all over

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5044-456: The colliery. In 1863 the Ragman shaft was deepened to the Ten Feet seam at a depth of 150 yards (137 metres). At this time one winding engine served the Ragman, Engine and Bellringer shafts. Coal was wound up the shafts in 8cwt. tubs hooked onto the winding rope by chains. The men were also raised and lowered in these tubs; a dangerous, but common practice used before the introduction of cages. As

5141-424: The combustion zone (1,773–1,873 K (1,500–1,600 °C; 2,732–2,912 °F)). Blast furnaces are currently rarely used in copper smelting, but modern lead smelting blast furnaces are much shorter than iron blast furnaces and are rectangular in shape. Modern lead blast furnaces are constructed using water-cooled steel or copper jackets for the walls, and have no refractory linings in the side walls. The base of

5238-415: The control of three liquidators . One of these was the previous Company Secretary, John Renshaw Wain. It was his son, Edward Brownfield Wain, who was to lead the Company to its ‘Golden Age’ Much of the success of the recovery can be directly attributed to Edward Brownfield Wain, who had been appointed Undermanager in 1882. He soon introduced the more productive longwall working of the coalfaces in place of

5335-425: The cost of transporting coal from Whitfield to the blast furnaces at Chatterley. In 1876 the company ran into serious financial difficulties. The heavy capital expenditure of the earlier years and a recession in trade began to take their effect. To overcome this a policy of rigorous economy was introduced and numerous small pits were closed. This policy was strongly opposed by Mr Charles J. Homer and he resigned over

5432-417: The country to buy the small coal that was stocked at the colliery. In 1929 only 193 days were worked and during the 1930s Depression 300 Whitfield miners were made redundant. North Staffordshire collieries worked on a tonnage quota system during this period and when the monthly quota had been produced they had to stop work. By 1932 all underground haulage had been mechanised and most pit ponies taken out of

5529-419: The decking level, capacity of the cage – six 10cwt tubs, these tubs being pushed into the cage by hand both on the surface and underground. Diameter of shaft twenty one feet. 440 yards to the decking level, capacity of the cage – four 10cwt tubs, these tubs being pushed into the cage by hand both on the surface and underground. Diameter of shaft sixteen feet. 1910 new steel headgear installed 240 yards to

5626-477: The decking level, capacity of the cage – three decks with two 8cwt tubs in each deck, these tubs being pushed into the cage by hand both on the surface and underground. Diameter of shaft twelve feet with wooden cage guides. 440 yards to the decking level, two deck cage, upcast shaft for both the Hesketh and Institute shafts. Diameter of the shaft – sixteen feet. 240 yards to the decking Ievel, upcast shaft along with

5723-554: The early morning of Monday, February 7, 1881 there was a serious fire and explosion at Whitfield. The latter fire was caused by the misuse of an underground blacksmith ’s furnace which resulted in an explosion, killing twenty-four men and boys. The force of the explosion caused the collapse of the Laura Pit and the entire shaft and pit top were abandoned. At the same time the Institute shaft had to be partly filled, in an effort to extinguish

5820-606: The fire. Later, an enquiry into the explosion was held at the nearby Norton Arms Public House , while at Staffords Assizes the Manager, Edwin Thompson, defended himself against a charge of manslaughter and was acquitted. In an effort to recover lost output, the Middle Pit shaft (formerly the Ragman) was deepened to the Hardmine seam in 1881, and a new upcast shaft to replace the Laura was sunk to

5917-533: The first limited liability company to operate the mine. The Whitfield Colliery Company Limited bought both the colliery and a 214-acre estate for £40,000 and a prospectus issued in 1868 indicates that the capital for the proposed company was to be £25,000. The new owners of Whitfield immediately set about the task of improving the shafts by deepening the Engine Pit to the same level as the Ragman Pit (148 yards) and widening both shafts to accommodate two cages. each shaft

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6014-467: The furnace has a chair shape with the lower part of the shaft being narrower than the upper. The lower row of tuyeres being located in the narrow part of the shaft. This allows the upper part of the shaft to be wider than the standard. The blast furnaces used in the Imperial Smelting Process ("ISP") were developed from the standard lead blast furnace, but are fully sealed. This is because

6111-464: The furnace is a hearth of refractory material (bricks or castable refractory). Lead blast furnaces are often open-topped rather than having the charging bell used in iron blast furnaces. The blast furnace used at the Nyrstar Port Pirie lead smelter differs from most other lead blast furnaces in that it has a double row of tuyeres rather than the single row normally used. The lower shaft of

6208-469: The furnace next to it into which the waste gas (containing CO) from the furnace was directed and burnt. The resultant heat was used to preheat the air blown into the furnace. Hot blast enabled the use of raw anthracite coal, which was difficult to light, in the blast furnace. Anthracite was first tried successfully by George Crane at Ynyscedwyn Ironworks in south Wales in 1837. It was taken up in America by

6305-475: The furnace. Competition in industry drives higher production rates. The largest blast furnace in the world is in South Korea, with a volume around 6,000 m (210,000 cu ft). It can produce around 5,650,000 tonnes (5,560,000 LT) of iron per year. This is a great increase from the typical 18th-century furnaces, which averaged about 360 tonnes (350 long tons; 400 short tons) per year. Variations of

6402-526: The historic elements of the wider landscape. It monitors and reports on the state of England's heritage and publishes the annual Heritage at Risk survey which is one of the UK government's official statistics . It is tasked to secure the preservation and enhancement of the human-made heritage of England for the benefit of future generations. Its remit involves: It is not responsible for approving alterations to listed buildings . The management of listed buildings

6499-674: The increased demand for iron for casting cannons, the blast furnace came into widespread use in France in the mid 15th century. The direct ancestor of those used in France and England was in the Namur region, in what is now Wallonia (Belgium). From there, they spread first to the Pays de Bray on the eastern boundary of Normandy and from there to the Weald of Sussex , where the first furnace (called Queenstock) in Buxted

6596-400: The iron's quality. Coke's impurities were more of a problem before hot blast reduced the amount of coke required and before furnace temperatures were hot enough to make slag from limestone free flowing. (Limestone ties up sulphur. Manganese may also be added to tie up sulphur.) Coke iron was initially only used for foundry work, making pots and other cast iron goods. Foundry work was

6693-405: The iron(II) oxide moves down to the area with higher temperatures, ranging up to 1200 °C degrees, it is reduced further to iron metal: The carbon dioxide formed in this process is re-reduced to carbon monoxide by the coke : The temperature-dependent equilibrium controlling the gas atmosphere in the furnace is called the Boudouard reaction : The pig iron produced by the blast furnace has

6790-420: The issue. However, as the economies began to take effect and the output of coal increased, the company was able to weather the storm. Unfortunately, just as the company was recovering, it was beset by further misfortunes. In 1880, the oil distillery at Chatterley was destroyed by fire. In an effort to recover lost output, the Middle Pit shaft (formerly the Ragman) was deepened to the Hardmine seam in 1881, and

6887-399: The leather bellows, which wore out quickly. Isaac was granted a second patent, also for blowing cylinders, in 1757. The steam engine and cast iron blowing cylinder led to a large increase in British iron production in the late 18th century. Hot blast was the single most important advance in fuel efficiency of the blast furnace and was one of the most important technologies developed during

6984-528: The manor of Tunstall from the late 13th century onwards. A local tradition claims that the monks of the Hulton Abbey came to nearby Ridgeway during the 14th and 15th centuries, to work coal from some of the eight seams outcropping half a mile east of Whitfield. These early workings were known as ‘footrails’ and were driven down from the surface. Shaw's History of The Potteries tells us that in 1750, Ralph Leigh of Burslem collected coal from Whitfield twice

7081-523: The molten iron was tapped twice a day into water, thereby granulating it. The General Chapter of the Cistercian monks spread some technological advances across Europe. This may have included the blast furnace, as the Cistercians are known to have been skilled metallurgists . According to Jean Gimpel, their high level of industrial technology facilitated the diffusion of new techniques: "Every monastery had

7178-471: The more traditional ‘ pillar and stall ’ system. He was appointed Colliery Manager in 1886 and by 1890 the Company was once more paying its way. In the same year the liquidators came to an understanding with the North of England Trustee, Debenture and Assets Corporation Limited of Manchester , who agreed to purchase the old Chatterley Iron Company. The new Company became Chatterley Whitfield Collieries Limited and

7275-461: The occasion the Bellringer shaft was renamed the Institute. In 1874 the colliery company also started to widen and deepen an old shaft, originally sunk by Hugh Henshall Williamson in the 1850s and sited to the north-east of the Institute. This shaft was to act as the upcast for the Institute Pit and was named the Laura, after Mr Charles J. Homer's daughter. Both shafts were completed in 1876. During

7372-465: The pit. Steel supports began to replace the traditional timber pit props. These originally were not universally accepted because miners complained that whereas timber supports creaked when they began to break, which acted as a warning, steel supports did not. Eventually, however, steel supports were accepted. There were also technological advances with coal cutters and conveyors which were becoming increasingly necessary as tonnage began to increase. In 1934

7469-492: The process was further enhanced by the practice of preheating the combustion air ( hot blast ), patented by Scottish inventor James Beaumont Neilson in 1828. Archaeological evidence shows that bloomeries appeared in China around 800 BC. Originally it was thought that the Chinese started casting iron right from the beginning, but this theory has since been debunked by the discovery of 'more than ten' iron digging implements found in

7566-515: The production of commercial iron and steel , and the shaft furnaces used in combination with sinter plants in base metals smelting. Blast furnaces are estimated to have been responsible for over 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions between 1900 and 2015, but are difficult to decarbonize. Blast furnaces operate on the principle of chemical reduction whereby carbon monoxide converts iron oxides to elemental iron. Blast furnaces differ from bloomeries and reverberatory furnaces in that in

7663-597: The region. The largest ones were found in modern Sichuan and Guangdong , while the 'dwarf" blast furnaces were found in Dabieshan . In construction, they are both around the same level of technological sophistication. The effectiveness of the Chinese human and horse powered blast furnaces was enhanced during this period by the engineer Du Shi (c. AD 31), who applied the power of waterwheels to piston - bellows in forging cast iron. Early water-driven reciprocators for operating blast furnaces were built according to

7760-573: The results of older projects, such as the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England and Images of England (providing online access to images of listed buildings in England as of 2002). Historic England inherited English Heritage's position as the UK government's statutory adviser and a statutory consultee on all aspects of the historic environment and its heritage assets. This includes archaeology on land and underwater, historic buildings sites and areas, designated landscapes and

7857-479: The structure of horse powered reciprocators that already existed. That is, the circular motion of the wheel, be it horse driven or water driven, was transferred by the combination of a belt drive , a crank-and-connecting-rod, other connecting rods , and various shafts, into the reciprocal motion necessary to operate a push bellow. Donald Wagner suggests that early blast furnace and cast iron production evolved from furnaces used to melt bronze . Certainly, though, iron

7954-469: The temperature in the different parts of the furnace (warmest at the bottom) the iron is reduced in several steps. At the top, where the temperature usually is in the range between 200 °C and 700 °C, the iron oxide is partially reduced to iron(II,III) oxide, Fe 3 O 4 . The temperatures 850 °C, further down in the furnace, the iron(II,III) is reduced further to iron(II) oxide: Hot carbon dioxide, unreacted carbon monoxide, and nitrogen from

8051-459: The tomb of Duke Jing of Qin (d. 537 BC), whose tomb is located in Fengxiang County , Shaanxi (a museum exists on the site today). There is however no evidence of the bloomery in China after the appearance of the blast furnace and cast iron. In China, blast furnaces produced cast iron, which was then either converted into finished implements in a cupola furnace, or turned into wrought iron in

8148-468: The transport of the liquid steel to the steelworks. This is done by adding calcium oxide , which reacts with the iron sulfide contained in the pig iron to form calcium sulfide (called lime desulfurization ). In a further process step, the so-called basic oxygen steelmaking , the carbon is oxidized by blowing oxygen onto the liquid pig iron to form crude steel . Cast iron has been found in China dating to

8245-746: The world charcoal was cheaper while coke was more expensive even after the Industrial Revolution: e. g., in the US charcoal-fueled iron production fell in share to about a half ca. 1850 but still continued to increase in absolute terms until ca. 1890, while in João Monlevade in the Brazilian Highlands charcoal-fired blast furnaces were built as late as the 1930s and only phased out in 2000. Darby's original blast furnace has been archaeologically excavated and can be seen in situ at Coalbrookdale, part of

8342-583: The zinc produced by these furnaces is recovered as metal from the vapor phase, and the presence of oxygen in the off-gas would result in the formation of zinc oxide. Blast furnaces used in the ISP have a more intense operation than standard lead blast furnaces, with higher air blast rates per m of hearth area and a higher coke consumption. Zinc production with the ISP is more expensive than with electrolytic zinc plants, so several smelters operating this technology have closed in recent years. However, ISP furnaces have

8439-468: Was an engine house, coal wharf, carpenters shop and brickworks on the site. The buildings, machinery and coal stocks were collectively valued at £154 7s. 6d. (£154.37.5p). Hugh Henshall Williamson, a local man who lived nearby at Greenway Bank Hall, was mining in the Whitfield area by 1853. His mining activities at this period are somewhat uncertain, but it is most probable that Williamson first made use of existing mining sites and shallow shafts. In 1853 it

8536-508: Was barely finished when plans were drawn up for a new deep shaft to maintain and operate the north and south Cockshead dips which in the Institute shaft had reached a length of 2092 yards (1913 metres) from the pit bottom. After much consideration, the new shaft was sunk to the east of the Platt shaft and preparatory work started in 1914. Shaft sinking commenced in June 1915 and was completed by May 1917 to

8633-576: Was brought into use on Saturday, January 29. The canteen was also opened in 1938. The 1930s were momentous for Whitfield because not only were there over 4,000 men employed, but in 1937 it became the first colliery in Britain to mine one million saleable tons in one year, a feat it also achieved in 1938. From 1938 onwards and during the Second World War, there was little change until the mines were Nationalised on Wednesday, January 1, 1947. 640 yards to

8730-521: Was built in about 1491, followed by one at Newbridge in Ashdown Forest in 1496. They remained few in number until about 1530 but many were built in the following decades in the Weald, where the iron industry perhaps reached its peak about 1590. Most of the pig iron from these furnaces was taken to finery forges for the production of bar iron . The first British furnaces outside the Weald appeared during

8827-464: Was created by the National Heritage Act 1983 , and operated from April 1984 to April 2015 under the name of English Heritage . In 2015, following the changes to English Heritage's structure that moved the protection of the National Heritage Collection into the voluntary sector in the English Heritage Trust , the body that remained was rebranded as Historic England. The body also inherited

8924-473: Was essential to military success by the time the State of Qin had unified China (221 BC). Usage of the blast and cupola furnace remained widespread during the Song and Tang dynasties . By the 11th century, the Song dynasty Chinese iron industry made a switch of resources from charcoal to coke in casting iron and steel, sparing thousands of acres of woodland from felling. This may have happened as early as

9021-563: Was from Wednesday to Tuesday. The canteen was opened and at the same time a new fitting and electric shop replaced the old one under the Middle Pit Power House which had become inadequate. In 1938 a new boiler house containing twelve Lancashire boilers fuelled by pulverised coal and considered to be one of the best in Britain was brought into use. In the same year, the Pithead Baths, containing 3,817 ‘clean’ and 3,817 ‘dirty’ lockers

9118-470: Was its lower cost, mainly because making coke required much less labor than cutting trees and making charcoal, but using coke also overcame localized shortages of wood, especially in Britain and eleswhere in Europe. Metallurgical grade coke will bear heavier weight than charcoal, allowing larger furnaces. A disadvantage is that coke contains more impurities than charcoal, with sulfur being especially detrimental to

9215-624: Was probably being consumed as fast as the wood to make it grew. The first blast furnace in Russia opened in 1637 near Tula and was called the Gorodishche Works. The blast furnace spread from there to central Russia and then finally to the Urals . In 1709, at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, England, Abraham Darby began to fuel a blast furnace with coke instead of charcoal . Coke's initial advantage

9312-732: Was provided with its own steam winding engine and the use of the Bellringer shaft was discontinued. The life of the Whitfield Colliery Company Limited was of limited duration, coming to an end in 1872. At about this time the Chatterley Iron Company Limited, who owned blast furnaces , an oil distilling plant and a colliery working ironstone in the Chatterley Valley, west of Tunstall , were looking for an adequate supply of coal for its furnaces. In early 1873 Mr Charles J. Homer, its Managing Director, purchased

9409-424: Was replaced by a bi-cylindro drum which made the winding of coal much easier. Up to 1915, all the coal at Whitfield had to be hewn from the coal face without the aid of machinery. In that year, however, electrically driven coal cutters and compressed air shaker conveyors were introduced to help remove some of the physical work required to mine and transport the coal from the face. In 1920 an ex-army hut provided

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