Wortley Forge: The Evolution of an Eighteenth-Century Ironworks

Abstract

The experiences of Wortley Forge reflect the British iron trade’s transformation during the eighteenth century, and iron’s pivotal role in industrialization. Its management – first under regional syndicates, afterwards, from 1739, by the Cockshutt family – shows the advantages and pitfalls of family businesses. There is new insight into the Cockshutts and their relationship to leading engineers and scientists, and into the personal interactions and industrial networks so important to eighteenth-century business ventures.