Finch Foundary Water Wheel, Devon, UK - Diliff

Finch Foundry is a 19th-century water-powered

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

situated in the village of Sticklepath near

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based in the town (east and west). ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon i ...

, England. It was originally used to produce agricultural and mining hand tools and at its peak produced around 400 edge-tools a day. It remained an active foundry until 1960 when the roof collapsed and has been a

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

property since 1994. It contains examples of a tilt hammer, drop hammer, and shear hammer all powered by water wheels. The Trust maintains the forge in working order and demonstrations of the tools are given.

Gallery

File:Finch Foundary 1, Devon, UK - Diliff.jpg, A National Trust volunteer explaining how the foundry operated and was powered File:Finch Foundary 2, Devon, UK - Diliff.jpg, Demonstrating the flattening of a red hot cast iron bar using the tilt hammer File:Finch Foundary 3, Devon, UK - Diliff.jpg, Demonstrating the shear hammer by cutting a segment of red hot cast iron bar which had previously been flattened tilt hammer

References

External links

Finch Foundry information

National Trust properties in Devon Museums in Devon Technology museums in the United Kingdom Foundries in the United Kingdom Industrial buildings in England Industrial archaeological sites in Devon Power hammers {{Devon-geo-stub