''Metallum Martis'', a 1665
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
by
Dud Dudley, is the earliest known reference to the use of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
in
metallurgical smelting
Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
. The book is also referred to as ''Iron made with Pit-Coale, Sea-Coale, &c. And with the same Fuell to Melt and Fine Imperfect Mettals, And Refine perfect Mettals.''
Many attendant difficulties had to be overcome before this
fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
could be applied to the purpose of
smelting
Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
. Dudley does not describe in his book how he was using coal, only that he was. In so doing, he described his use successively of an ironworks on
Pensnett Chase
Pensnett Chase was a wooded area of land owned by the Lords of Dudley Castle in the parishes of Kingswinford and Dudley (or mainly so). As a chase, it was originally used by them to hunt game in although it was also used as common land by local ...
and at
Cradley, of a furnace at
Himley
Himley is a small village and civil parish in the English ceremonial county of Staffordshire, situated 4 miles west of Dudley and 5 miles southwest of Wolverhampton. At the time of the 2011 Census, Himley had a population of 802.It is most not ...
, and of a furnace at Hasco Bridge near
Gornal.
Dudley does mention several things that indicate what he was doing. The coal he used was the small pieces and slack which were "little or of no use in that inland country" and so brought in no money. This coal debris was left in heaps and "crowded moist slack heat naturally, and kindle in the middle of these great heaps, often sets the coal works on fire" and that "Also from these sulphurous heaps, mixed with ironstone (for out of many of the same pits is gotten much ironstone or mine), the fires heating vast quantities of water, passing through these soughs or adits becometh as hot as the bath at
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
". Dudley describes two rival attempts to smelt iron with coal instigated by supporters of Parliament during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and the
Interregnum
An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...
. Dudley visited both sites and having examined their furnaces and production methods, when asked his opinion, informed the proprietors that they would fail. The first attempt was by Captain Buck, with the backing of many parliamentary officers including Oliver Cromwell, with technical help from Edward Dagney, an Italian. In the second attempt in the late 1656–67 by Captain John Copley also failed despite Dudley, at no charge, improving the efficiency of Copley's bellows. Dudley reapplied for a patent from Charles II, in 1660 stating "and seeing no man able to perform the mastery of making of iron with pit-coal or sea-coal, ...
ithout mylaudable inventions the author was, and is, unwilling
hat they
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
should fall to the ground and die with him".
[Scrivenor quoting Dudley, ]
A significant feature of his great work ''Metallum Martis'' is a map showing
Dudley Castle
Dudley Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Originally a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortification during the twelfth century but subs ...
where he correctly identifies the order and geographic layout of
strata
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
of coal and
ironstone under survey.
Considered to be the earliest of recorded
geologic map
A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show various geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols. Bedding planes and structural features such as faults, folds, are shown with st ...
s, ''Metallum Martis'' marks a turning point in the evolution of scientific rationale concerning the recording and interpretation of
geological information. It is considered to have been made at Castle Hill in Dudley by Dud Dudley in 1665.
Notes
References
*
*.
*{{Citation , last=Scrivenor , first=Harry , year=1854 , title=A comprehensive history of the iron trade , location=London , publisher=Longman,Brown Green and Longmans , page
37–55} It includes an 18-page extract from, ''Metallum Martis''.
1665 books
Theories