Shotley Bridge swordmakers

urbanspaceman · 5th October 2017, 10:30 PM

It makes me wonder if perhaps the stars found associated with the Passau Wolf markings are connected?

urbanspaceman · 5th October 2017, 11:08 PM

What the above now establishes, beyond all speculation, is why the Germans chose Shotley Bridge: it was because of Bertram.
It is also very likely that Bertram was there because of Vinting, whose ancestors (at least one earlier generation anyway) were already there.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 6th October 2017, 01:55 AM

You lost me there Kieth...I remembered reading something about Bertram and him not being traced or something ...to a German origin...(from your pdf details) but your explanation is amazing I have to say... I had been told or read somewhere that there were furnace remains up near Allensford similar I presume to the ones at the Bridge in Shotley.

The grindstone I was told about seems to be just that...for grinding grain...which is why it may well have been seen near the river at the Bridge next to the Grain Mill..(The grain mill which was part of the Swordmakers company set up) That may still be there amongst the trees or some museum...Newcastle or Beamish ...took it away...Anyway its not important now.

It is rather like reading a play by Shakespeare and discovering an entirely missing character but suddenly finding his entire script in another play wrongly applied in that scenario.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 6th October 2017, 02:21 AM

However...Bertram wasn't at Allensford or at least if he was, he was also at Blackhall Mill which is down river from Shotley Bridge; not up apparently... and for which he was famous

I found this~ at https://studylib.net/doc/8013653/the...lished-in-1773

Quote" The Swedish traveller Reinhold Angerstein, who visited Mather’s workshop in 1754, noted that he made ‘all kinds of steel hardware required for a watchmaker’s shop’, specialising in ‘a kind of grooved steel wire for pinions in small pocket watches’. The ‘raw material for the pinion wire’ at the time was ‘Mr Bertram’s Double Shear Steel’ from the North East, not crucible steel. Torsten Berg and Peter Berg (eds), R.R. Angerstein’s illustrated travel diary, 1753-1755: industry in England and Wales from a Swedish perspective(London, 2001), pp. 313-14. William Bertram operated at Blackhall Mill in the Derwent valley, the historic centre for the manufacture of shear steel."Unquote.

I have noted Angerstein before ... Wasn't he at Shotley Bridge for a meeting?

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 6th October 2017, 02:43 AM

and~

History
In the early eighteenth century, Blackhall Mill changed from a mainly rural estate to a steel making village.

The Bertram family operated a steel forge from the early 1700s. It was visited in 1719 and 1754 by Swedish engineers. Both Kalmeter in 1719 and Angerstein in 1754 visited the papermill which was operated by the same millrace as the forge. Angerstein, on his visit in 1754 was studying new methods of industrial technology. At that time, conversion of iron into steel took eighteen days, with most of the time taken by cooling. Profit was sixteen per cent. There is reference to a smelt mill at Blackhall Mill in an indenture of 1773, and Mr. William Bertram of Ryton parish was owner or part owner of the sword factory at Blackhall Mill at the same period. The Blackhall Mill steel forge (later the site of the council school) used power from a dam across the Derwent near Beechgrove Terrace.

Angersteins journey can be traced at https://books.google.com.om/books?id...bridge&f=false which indicates almost every forge and mill in the line of travel and a map can be seen... He indeed visited Shotley Bridge.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 6th October 2017, 03:05 AM

Dan Heyford was from Roamley near Pontefract and he supplied Shotley Bridge with steel...according to https://books.google.com.om/books?id...page&q&f=false on page 302.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 6th October 2017, 03:15 AM

Further~ From http://twsitelines.info/SMR/1017

Quote"Wilhelm Bertram, a steelmaker from Remscheid in Germany, was shipwrecked off the north Durham coast in 1693. A few years later he was said to be in charge of a furnace in Newcastle. By 1720 Bertram had transferred to Blackhall Mill, acting as steelmaker for the furnace owned by Hayford. The Hollow Sword Blade Company, which was originally set up near Shotley Bridge in about 1686 by German immigrants, was apparently being supplied with cementation steel by Hayford. There is a description of the works in H. Kalmeter "Dagbok ofver en 1718-1726 Foretagen Resa", vol 1, folios 349-350. There is a picture of the furnace in R.R. Angerstein, 1753, "Resa genom England, 1753-1755". Bertram pioneered the production of German steel by forging blister steel. Angerstein says that the "Shear Steel" mark - a stamp showing crossed shear blades, was Bertram's own mark. Indded the making of "Shear Steel" was introduced into Sheffield by a workman from Blackhall Mill in 1767. Bertram died around 1740. In 1753 his son was running Blackhall Mill. At this time some 30 tons of "German steel" was made in a year with a further 100 tons or so of blister steel in simple bars. The steel from Newcastle and Blackhall Mill was said to be the best in England, due to the care taken in selecting the iron, and its processing. The furnaces had chests 127 inches long, made from sandstone. The flues and vaults were of Stourbridge bricks and the rest of the structure was in dressed stone. The furnace chimneys were 28-30 feet high with a top diameter of about 3 feet. In 1810 and 1811 the Blackhall Mill site was being worked by the Cooksons. It is omitted from a list of steel manufacturers for 1863 (see Spencer 1864), so must have gone out of operation some time between 1811 and 1863. It may have closed at the same time as Cookson's works in Newcastle, which were abandoned in 1851-53. A postcard dated 1913 shows Blackhall Mill essentially similar to the nearby Derwencote furnace, without the buttresses. Blackhall Mill was demolished in 1916 to make way for a school house."Unquote.

5th October 2017, 10:30 PM	#1
urbanspaceman Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Tyneside. North-East England Posts: 577	stars It makes me wonder if perhaps the stars found associated with the Passau Wolf markings are connected?

5th October 2017, 11:08 PM	#2
urbanspaceman Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Tyneside. North-East England Posts: 577	Eureka What the above now establishes, beyond all speculation, is why the Germans chose Shotley Bridge: it was because of Bertram. It is also very likely that Bertram was there because of Vinting, whose ancestors (at least one earlier generation anyway) were already there.

6th October 2017, 02:21 AM	#4
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	However...Bertram wasn't at Allensford or at least if he was, he was also at Blackhall Mill which is down river from Shotley Bridge; not up apparently... and for which he was famous I found this~ at https://studylib.net/doc/8013653/the...lished-in-1773 Quote" The Swedish traveller Reinhold Angerstein, who visited Mather’s workshop in 1754, noted that he made ‘all kinds of steel hardware required for a watchmaker’s shop’, specialising in ‘a kind of grooved steel wire for pinions in small pocket watches’. The ‘raw material for the pinion wire’ at the time was ‘Mr Bertram’s Double Shear Steel’ from the North East, not crucible steel. Torsten Berg and Peter Berg (eds), R.R. Angerstein’s illustrated travel diary, 1753-1755: industry in England and Wales from a Swedish perspective(London, 2001), pp. 313-14. William Bertram operated at Blackhall Mill in the Derwent valley, the historic centre for the manufacture of shear steel."Unquote. I have noted Angerstein before ... Wasn't he at Shotley Bridge for a meeting? Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 6th October 2017 at 02:49 AM.

6th October 2017, 01:55 AM	#3
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	You lost me there Kieth...I remembered reading something about Bertram and him not being traced or something ...to a German origin...(from your pdf details) but your explanation is amazing I have to say... I had been told or read somewhere that there were furnace remains up near Allensford similar I presume to the ones at the Bridge in Shotley. The grindstone I was told about seems to be just that...for grinding grain...which is why it may well have been seen near the river at the Bridge next to the Grain Mill..(The grain mill which was part of the Swordmakers company set up) That may still be there amongst the trees or some museum...Newcastle or Beamish ...took it away...Anyway its not important now. It is rather like reading a play by Shakespeare and discovering an entirely missing character but suddenly finding his entire script in another play wrongly applied in that scenario.

6th October 2017, 02:43 AM	#5
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	and~ History In the early eighteenth century, Blackhall Mill changed from a mainly rural estate to a steel making village. The Bertram family operated a steel forge from the early 1700s. It was visited in 1719 and 1754 by Swedish engineers. Both Kalmeter in 1719 and Angerstein in 1754 visited the papermill which was operated by the same millrace as the forge. Angerstein, on his visit in 1754 was studying new methods of industrial technology. At that time, conversion of iron into steel took eighteen days, with most of the time taken by cooling. Profit was sixteen per cent. There is reference to a smelt mill at Blackhall Mill in an indenture of 1773, and Mr. William Bertram of Ryton parish was owner or part owner of the sword factory at Blackhall Mill at the same period. The Blackhall Mill steel forge (later the site of the council school) used power from a dam across the Derwent near Beechgrove Terrace. Angersteins journey can be traced at https://books.google.com.om/books?id...bridge&f=false which indicates almost every forge and mill in the line of travel and a map can be seen... He indeed visited Shotley Bridge.

6th October 2017, 03:05 AM	#6
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Dan Heyford was from Roamley near Pontefract and he supplied Shotley Bridge with steel...according to https://books.google.com.om/books?id...page&q&f=false on page 302.

6th October 2017, 03:15 AM	#7
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Further~ From http://twsitelines.info/SMR/1017 Quote"Wilhelm Bertram, a steelmaker from Remscheid in Germany, was shipwrecked off the north Durham coast in 1693. A few years later he was said to be in charge of a furnace in Newcastle. By 1720 Bertram had transferred to Blackhall Mill, acting as steelmaker for the furnace owned by Hayford. The Hollow Sword Blade Company, which was originally set up near Shotley Bridge in about 1686 by German immigrants, was apparently being supplied with cementation steel by Hayford. There is a description of the works in H. Kalmeter "Dagbok ofver en 1718-1726 Foretagen Resa", vol 1, folios 349-350. There is a picture of the furnace in R.R. Angerstein, 1753, "Resa genom England, 1753-1755". Bertram pioneered the production of German steel by forging blister steel. Angerstein says that the "Shear Steel" mark - a stamp showing crossed shear blades, was Bertram's own mark. Indded the making of "Shear Steel" was introduced into Sheffield by a workman from Blackhall Mill in 1767. Bertram died around 1740. In 1753 his son was running Blackhall Mill. At this time some 30 tons of "German steel" was made in a year with a further 100 tons or so of blister steel in simple bars. The steel from Newcastle and Blackhall Mill was said to be the best in England, due to the care taken in selecting the iron, and its processing. The furnaces had chests 127 inches long, made from sandstone. The flues and vaults were of Stourbridge bricks and the rest of the structure was in dressed stone. The furnace chimneys were 28-30 feet high with a top diameter of about 3 feet. In 1810 and 1811 the Blackhall Mill site was being worked by the Cooksons. It is omitted from a list of steel manufacturers for 1863 (see Spencer 1864), so must have gone out of operation some time between 1811 and 1863. It may have closed at the same time as Cookson's works in Newcastle, which were abandoned in 1851-53. A postcard dated 1913 shows Blackhall Mill essentially similar to the nearby Derwencote furnace, without the buttresses. Blackhall Mill was demolished in 1916 to make way for a school house."Unquote.