Index to Vol IV

At Rockley, Yorkshire (SE338021) there survives the stone stack of a blast furnace which archive sources suggest was built in about 1700 and was used with charcoal until at least 1741. Antiquarian suggestions of a later period of operation using coke have received archaeological support in excavations carried out between 1978 and 1982. These established the layout of the blowing and casting houses, as well as the position of a head race, and of a water wheel of which only fragments survived. Of particular significance was a stone-lined casting pit, inserted into the floor of the casting house. The results of this excavation provide new impetus for research on the adaptation of charcoal blast furnaces for the use of coke.