Talk:Shotley Bridge: Difference between revisions
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The part about breaking their guild oaths is also rather ambiguous. What oaths had they broken to prompt their move? |
The part about breaking their guild oaths is also rather ambiguous. What oaths had they broken to prompt their move? |
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[[User:Piratedan|Pirate Dan]] 20:02, 11 July 2007 (UTC) |
[[User:Piratedan|Pirate Dan]] 20:02, 11 July 2007 (UTC) |
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== Swordmaking at Shotley Bridge == |
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Several reasons are given for the choice of Shotley Bridge by the German cutlers in an excellent article by H. Raine (reproduced here: [http://members.fortunecity.com/consett/]). They are said to have been fleeing the wave of religious persecution taking place in Germany in the late 17th Century, arriving in the North East of England in either 1690 or early 1691. Other German swordmakers are said to have settled elsewhere in Britian at this time. Several different families from the Solingen area are known to have arrived (Raine records their names) and corroboration for the claim that they were fleeing religious persecution is suggested by the fact that they brought their minister with them. According to Raine, they firstly examined sites along the River Tyne, but finding them unsuitable eventually explored one of the Tyne's main tributaries, the Derwent, following its path up the valley and eventually settling at various points on its banks between places now known as Shotley Bridge and Allensford. The town of Consett did not then exist. The remains of some of the cutlers' kilns can still be seen on the north bank of the Derwent in woodland near Allensford (disgracefully, when I lived in the area in the 1970s nothing had been done to conserve - or even to mark - these important local monuments), and timber holes from the Shotley swordgrinders mills can apparently be found near Shotley Bridge, although I've not personally seen these. |
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Pirate Dan rightly questions the claim that the Derwent's "fast-flowing" waters could have had anything to do with the tempering process. However, water velocity may have been a factor with regard to the sword grinders' mill(s) at Shotley Bridge, although mills normally have means of adjusting water flow (a mill race and sluice gate), depending on their design type, in order to compensate for seasonal flow variations. Moreover, the sword makers of the Derwent are known to have interfered with the Derwent's flow at points upstream, including the creation of at least one dam. It seems unlikely that water velocity was critical to the grinding process. |
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Raine suggests several reasons for the sword makers' choice of the Derwent, the most important of which was the extreme softness of the water. This is said to have been the critical factor allowing the cutler's to achieve (in the special steel tempering process they used) a very high quality blade, supposedly as good as the very best being produced anywhere else in Europe, and superior to most, for which they charged the highest prices. |
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But other factors were involved in their choice of the Derwent Valley. An obvious one is the ready availability of local ironstone, although the quality of the local ore (before the advent of the Bessemer process) was not ideal and the cutlers later began importing it from elsewhere. The abundance of local coal would also have been invaluable in achieving the high temperatures needed for their forges. |
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The secrets of the swordmaking processes brought to England by the Derwent cutlers were closely guarded, and it does seem likely that the craft guilds operating in Germany would have taken measures to protect them from rival manufacturers. In setting up in England it does seem plausible that they may have been infringing their guild oaths and this may be why Raine suggests that the seclusion of the Shotley Bridge district was also a factor. At that time the valley would have been heavily wooded on both its north and south banks, much more so than today, which may have appealed to people escaping persecution and perhaps the wrath of their fellow guildsmen in exporting their industrial secrets to a foreign land and setting up a rival business. |
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One other factor which might be worth noting is the high mineral content of the Derwent's water. I know nothing of steelmaking processes so can't comment, but Shotley Bridge has a spa, probably on account of the high iron content of the water. Perhaps someone more knowledgable about steel making can say whether this is likely to have had any benefits for the cutlers? |
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Shotley Bridge is a historically interesting and beautiful village and merits a much more substantial and informative article, ideally with illustrating photographs. Surely some local person can undertake to expand, correct and improve it? I've lived in London for the last 26 years and feel it should be done by someone more up-to-date with Shotley Bridge (and its environs) than I am. |
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Incidentally, the claim that "Shotley Bridge was once the heart of Britain's swordmaking industry" is also highly dubious and in need of supporting evidence. Although the Derwent Valley swords are known to have been highly regarded for the quality of their workmanship, and were possibly the finest being produced in Britain, it does not necessarily follow that this was the heart of the British swordmaking industry. The |
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entry for Consett is currently woefully inadequate and makes unsupportable claims, including the suggestion that Wilkinson Sword started life in Shotley Bridge, which is nonsense.<br /> |
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[[User:Mousequakes|Mousequakes]] ([[User talk:Mousequakes|talk]]) 12:39, 13 January 2008 (UTC) |
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Revision as of 19:09, 9 May 2015
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I have added to the article, corrected the spelling and grammar, removed a number of nonsensical statements, and removed the POV statements regarding the cricket team and the design of the new housing being constructed. If anyone wants to add an unbiased statement regarding the cricket team, please do so. Michaeltyne 11:25, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
Sword making
The statement that the Solingen immigrant swordsmiths liked the fast-flowing Derwent because it was ideal for tempering swords looks extremely dubious. First tempering refers to the reheating of steel, not the quenching of it in water. Second, a fast-flowing and a slow-flowing stream would not be noticeably different for purposes of quenching blades.
I submit that the Solingen swordsmiths liked the Derwent because it was good for running mill wheels to turn grindstones, run bellows, and otherwise power their shops.
The part about breaking their guild oaths is also rather ambiguous. What oaths had they broken to prompt their move? Pirate Dan 20:02, 11 July 2007 (UTC)