Talk:Shotley Bridge

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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)[reply]

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)[reply]

Swordmaking at Shotley Bridge

I agree with Pirate Dan that the choice of Shotley Bridge for swordmaking is unlikely to have had anything to do with the Derwent's "fast flowing" waters. I have no knowledge of steel-making but it seems unlikely that fast-flowing water could have provided any advantages to the tempering process. The temperature of the water in the tempering process may have been more relevant, and the consistent coldness of the Derwent's water even in summer (it rises high in the Pennines) may have been beneficial. There was also a spa at Shotley Bridge, which is usually associated with waters high in mineral content and was possibly a factor. But most likely of all is the unusual softness of the Derwent's water, and this I can confirm from experience. I've personally never been to a place anywhere in the world with such soft water. Water softness is cited as the crucial factor in H. Raine's article reproduced here: members.fortunecity.com/consett/ Presumably it was the combination of the local availability of iron ore, very soft water and possibly the local coal which attracted the swordmakers from Solingen (not "Solignen", as Raine has it.) Mousequakes (talk) 22:16, 12 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]