The Duddon furnace is a surviving charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...

-fueled blast furnace

Blast furnace

A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...

 near Broughton-in-Furness

Broughton-in-Furness

Broughton in Furness is a small town on the southern boundary of England's Lake District National Park. It is located in the Furness region of Cumbria, which was part of Lancashire before 1974...

 in Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

. It is on the west side of the River Duddon

River Duddon

The Duddon is a river of north-west England. It rises at a point above sea level near the Three Shire Stone at the highest point of Wrynose Pass . The river descends to the sea over a course of about before entering the Irish Sea at the Duddon Sands. For its entire length the Duddon forms the...

 in the parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Millom

Millom

Millom is a town and civil parish on the estuary of the River Duddon in the southwest of Cumbria, England. The name is Cumbrian dialect for "At the mills". The town is accessible both by rail and an A class road...

 and formerly in Cumberland

Cumberland

Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....

.

History

The furnace was originally established as a joint venture of the Cunsey Company and the Backbarrow Company in 1736, but the Backbarrow Company sold their share to the Cunsey Company in 1741. The Cunsey Company already owned Cunsey Furnace and Spark Forge, but they closed Cunsey Furnace in 1750, thus becoming the Duddon Company. The partners in the Cunsey Company in 1737 were Edward Hall of Cranage

Cranage

Cranage is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 Official UK Census, the population of the entire civil parish was 1,130.-History:...

, Warine Falkner of Rugeley

Rugeley

Rugeley is a historic market town in the county of Staffordshire, England. It lies on the northern edge of Cannock Chase, and is situated roughly midway between the towns of Stafford, Cannock, Lichfield and Uttoxeter...

, Thomas Cotton of Eardley (Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

) and Edward Kendall of Stourbridge

Stourbridge

Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...

. Following the deaths of several partners, the firm became Jonathan Kendall & Co. They also built Argyll Furnace (also called Craleckan or Goatfield) in 1755. The ironworks was managed by William Latham, who between 1772 and 1775 was shipping pig iron to Warren Sayes of Chepstow

Chepstow

Chepstow is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the River Wye, close to its confluence with the River Severn, and close to the western end of the Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway...

, but the sales were managed by Jonathan Kendall. Henry Kendall (a partner) died at Ulverston in 1787. William Latham's sons Richard and Joseph renewed the lease in 1790. They continued the works until 1828, when they sold it to Harrison Ainslie

Harrison Ainslie

The firm of Harrison Ainslie & Co. was a British firm of ironmasters and iron ore merchants, selling high quality haematite from their mines on Lindal Moor to smelters in Glasgow, Scotland, South Wales and the Midlands. From a 21st century perspective, they are more interesting as the last...

 and Co., who operated it until 1867.

Remains

The furnace stack, of local stone, is intact to its full height of 29 feet, but the hearth has been removed. It was powered from a leat from the River Duddon and was blown (at least latterly) by blowing cylinders, described by Morton. The bridge, leading to the charging platform, has rooms under it used for workers' housing. The charcoal barn is 100 feet long, and the iron ore store also survives. The site was investigated archaeologically in the 1980s, but only interim reports from this have been published.