To the members of this Institute, this ironstone cannot but be an interesting subject, whether they be mining engineers, coal owners, iron masters, or simply a part of the public personally disinterested, as I believe that nothing has been discovered, within the last twenty years, having so direct an influence on the landed, railway, and mineral wealth, in the North of England, on the South Durham coal field, and on the iron trade generally, as the discovery and application of this large ironstone district.

I suppose it may now be taken as an admitted fact, that the prosperity or depression of the iron and coal trades regulates, in a very material degree, the prosperity or depression of nearly all other commercial pursuits in the same locality.

Having been early connected with the development of the northern part of this district, I have agreed to put the most material facts in connection therewith on record, on the assumption that the same may be useful in preserving an account of the early proceedings, (as it is anticipated it will become one of the most important iron districts of the kingdom), and, at the same time, be laying before the members of this Institute a correct account of the discovery and application of this ironstone, more especially as connected with the northern part thereof; and in doing so, I shall principally confine myself to a general outline, leaving the details of the respective special districts to be dealt with by others in future papers. Therefore, before entering upon the more immediate subject of this paper, it may be well to draw attention to the iron-works in the northern counties prior to the discovery, and to the application thereof, in the north part of Cleveland, as the requirements of the iron-works then in existence had a most influential bearing on the same. A general map, showing the relative position of the iron-works in the north, with the various coal, limestone, and ironstone districts, is herewith given, see Map No. 1.

1st. The Lemington Iron-works. — Belonging to the Tyne Iron Company, are the oldest smelting works in the North of England (of modern times). These works, consisting of two furnaces, were erected about the year 1800, for the purpose of smelting ironstone to be got from the coal measures in the neighbourhood of Walbottle, Elswick, and adjoining places on the river Tyne.

They had not been many years in existence before the local ironstone supply was found inadequate, and the partners, in looking for an extraneous supply, began to use, and have for upwards of fifty years continued to use (with Scotch and other ores), ironstone from the Yorkshire coast, being the clay ironstone nodules collected from the beach at various places, beginning with Redcar on the north and ending with the Old Peak on the south, but, in so doing, I have no doubt they got many blocks of this main stratified bed, which had fallen off the cliffs, particularly in collecting nodules at Kettleness, where part of this seam forms the beach, so that, in all probability, these works were not only the first erected, but also the first to use (although unknowingly), this bed of ironstone. Indeed some blocks, seen at these works, have been since recognised by parties as being from this bed. A Mr. Wilson, one of the former partners of these works, is, I believe, entitled to some credit for early recognizing this regular stratified bed on the coast. The first shipment to these works of this bed of ironstone, as such, was in the months of March and May, 1837, from the Whitby Stone Company.

2nd. Birtley Iron-works. — These works, consisting of three furnaces, and belonging to the Birtley Iron Company, were erected about the year 1827 or 1828, and were intended for the smelting of local ironstone, to be got from the coal measures at Ouston, Birtley, and in the immediate district. About the time of the erection of these works, Mr. Benjamin Thompson, then the managing partner of this Company, sent a Mr. Jos. Bewick, sen., of Hylton, near Sunderland, to examine the Yorkshire coast from the Tees to Flambro' Head, with the view of procuring an extraneous supply (in addition to the Scotch stone), as a mixing stone, and which examination he made about 1827 or 1828, and completed two surveys thereof us well as examined portions of the interior of the country, but from the nature of beach shipping, and want of railway communication, they were deterred from any further proceedings at that time. However, in May, 1833, the Act for the Whitby and Pickering Railway received the royal assent, and the consequent making of that railway caused this ironstone to be again looked after, and thus it was that on the 18th of May, 1836, a trial cargo of fifty-five tons (of 22½ cwts. each ton), of this ironstone was seat from Grosmont, six miles south-west of Whitby, by the Whitby Stone Company, and brought to these furnaces, and thus these iron-works were the first to have, knowingly, used this ironstone, although they did not get a second cargo until the 30th May, 1837 viz., of 128 tons of 22½ cwts. each.

3rd. Ridsdale Iron-works. — Although these works have, as yet, never been in connection with the Cleveland district, yet, as they may now possibly become so, from the increased railway facilities, I think it better to include them in this paper. They were erected by parties in connection with, or at one time forming part of; the Derwent Iron Company, about tine year 1835, and afterwards belonged to Messrs. Forster & Co., and are situated on the North Tyne. They consisted of two furnaces, and were intended for clay ironstone, to be got from the carboniferous limestone measures. But, although making good iron, they were, from their isolated position, heavy cost of transit by carts, in addition to the cost of the local raw material, completely debarred from getting other ores to them, or their own manufactured produce away, except at great expense, and hence were laid in at considerable sacrifice. But, shortly, the Border Counties Railway will give facilities of transit to and from, in consequence of which it is possible these works may again be proceeded with, as both hematite and other extraneous ores may then be got to the place by rail.

4th. Hareshaw Iron-works. — The same remarks apply to these works as to the Ridsdale. They consist of three furnaces, and were erected about 1836. They were also originally begun by the same parties as the Ridsdale, and afterwards belonged to Messrs. Woods, Parker, & Co.

5th. Wylam Iron-works. — These works were first erected by Mr. Ben. Thompson, about the year 1835 or 1836, and primarily intended for the smelting of coal measures ironstone, but, although only one furnace, it was found that the local supply was inadequate, even with occasional cargoes of Scotch ironstone. Now, as previously named, this ironstone, i.e., the main Cleveland bed, was first examined by Mr. J. Bewick, sen., in 1827 or 1828. He was, in consequence, again sent by Mr. Thompson in 1838, and in which year he began at Kettleness, on the coast, where part of this bed of ironstone forms the beach, and shipped ironstone for these works from thence, and in the following year, viz. 1839, they, in addition, got ironstone from Mrs. Clark, at Grosmont, (Mrs. Clark's mines being wrought then, and now, under the management of Mr. Bewick, jun.) After these works had been out of blast for a short time they were taken by the present firm of Messrs. Bell Brothers, about the year 1844.

6th. Consett Iron-works. — Consist of seven blast furnaces belonging to the Derwent Iron Company, and were erected about the year 1839 or 1840, for the smelting of local coal measures ironstone. An extraneous supply had to be sought-for these furnaces, from the carboniferous limestone measures, on both the rivers Wear and Tyne, as also partially from Whitby, but they depended principally on the local supply until 1851, i.e., after the opening out of this ironstone in the north part of Cleveland.

7th. Walker Iron-works. — These iron-works, situate on the Tyne, and belonging to Messrs. Losh, Wilson, & Bell, originally consisted of only one furnace, being the first blast furnace that was specially erected for this bed of ironstone (in connection with Scotch, and other ores, for mixing), viz., about the year 1842 or 1843, and which ironstone was purchased from the aforesaid mines belonging to Mrs. Clark, in the Whitby district, the first cargo being sent in June or July, 1843, since which time these works have been increased by one extra furnace, built for the Whitby district ironstone in 1844, and by other three for the north part of Cleveland, about 1852, making now a total of five furnaces.

8th. Stanhope Iron-works. — These works, consisting of one furnace, were first begun in 1842 by Messrs. Willis and Rippon, but never by them finished, they were afterwards taken by C. Attwood, Esq., for the Weardale Iron Company, in 1844, and put into blast in 1845. They were intended entirely for the Weardale carboniferous limestone measures, locally called "vein" or "rider" ironstone, and, I believe, have not used any of this Cleveland ironstone.

9th. Crookhall Iron-works. — Were erected about the year 1845, consist of seven furnaces, and also belong to the Derwent Iron Company. Similar remarks applying to them as to Consett.

10th. Tow-Law Iron-works. — Were erected about 1845 or 1846, consisting of five furnaces, and belong to the Weardale Iron Company. Were intended as a more permanent carrying out of the Stanhope Ironworks scheme, and for similar ores, with the extra advantage of coal measures ironstone as a mixing stone.

11th. Witton Park Iron-works. — Belonging to Messrs. Bolckow and Vaughan, consisting of four furnaces. Were intended for a mixture of ironstone, to be got from the coal and carboniferous limestone measures, with this main bed as a mixing stone; the latter got principally from the aforesaid Mrs. Clark's mines, near Whitby. They were erected in 1845, and put into blast early in 1846.

Having now given an outline of the iron-works erected up to and with 1846, it will he seen from the tabular statement appended hereto, that only eleven furnaces were erected during a period of about 36 years, i.e., before the application of the discovery of this ironstone by the "Whitby Stone" and "Birtley Iron" Companies, in the year 1836, and that after this ironstone was used by the said Birtley Iron Company, in 1836, the Tyne Iron Company in 1837, and the Wylam Iron Company in 1838, we have only a period of about six or seven years before the first furnace was built, by Messrs. Losh, Wilson, & Bell, at Walker, especially for this ironstone, within which period an additional number of eight furnaces were erected, thus showing, up to and with 1842 or 1843, only nineteen blast furnaces in existence in the North of England; and, although this ironstone from the south part of Cleveland was then more or less used by all the iron-works that could have access to the same by rail or otherwise, we have no further works specially erected for this stone, except one additional furnace at Walker, in 1844, all the remaining furnaces having been erected more or less independent of it. But with the combination of this main or thick bed of ironstone, from the south part of Cleveland from 1842 and 1843 to 1846, a period of only from thee to four years, we have eighteen more furnaces erected, or nearly as many more, making then a total of still only thirty-seven furnaces for the whole of the north-east part of England, and some of them permanently abandoned or temporarily out of blast.

I now come to the more immediate subject of my paper,. viz., the discovery of this ironstone; and on this point many have been the claims made by various parties, with various merits, some attributing it to the Romans, others to the monks; and within the last ten years to various individuals, all wishing to give the discovery a degree of antiquity, whatever they could do as to the merits of the application. But, in treating on this point, I am afraid I shall not be able to do justice to all, therefore should any parties not be named to whom credit may be due, let me at once say that it will he from want of knowledge thereof, and not by intention on my part. That the Romans or monks, or both, have been at work very little doubt can be entertained, and in illustration I give the following quotations. 1st, Professor Phillips says,¹ "ironstone abounds on this coast, and has been formerly shipped in large quantities to Newcastle. Inland, iron-works, established by the monks, were formerly carried on near Rievaulx Abbey, and further up in Bilsdale, and in the valley of Hackness." And next, J. W. Ord,² after remarking as to inland iron-works at Bilsdale, and former shipments of ironstone having been made to Newcastle, gives the following note: "Bransdale, Rosedale, and probably some other of the dales, contain quantities of ironstone, although at present in disuse. The vast heaps of iron slag, and numerous remains of ancient works, prove that much iron must formerly have been produced there. There are also appearances in these dales of charcoal having been prepared largely for these purposes; but when the works were carried on, no record remains to shew. However, an inspeximus dated at York, February 26th, 2nd of Edward III. (1328), recites the grant of a meadow in Rosedale, called Baggathwaite, to the nuns, by Robert de Stuteville, originally given by that family, A.D. 1209, whence it is evident that iron was worked in Rosedale at a very early period." Therefore, before giving my views on this point, it will be well to state, first, that this main bed of ironstone is between the upper and lower lias formations, and besides which there are numerous thin clay bands of ironstone, commonly called in this district "dogger bands," as also intermixed largely in the shale are "nodules" of ironstone; and upon the top of the main alum shale or upper lias, is a seam of ironstone now known as the top seam, (although not the highest geologically) generally lying from 40 to 45 fathoms above the main or thick bed, as also there is a third seam lying still higher, i.e. geologically, being in the oolite formation. Having stated this, I proceed to give my reasons for thinking that it is very questionable whether the Romans or the monks ever smelted any part of this main bed of ironstone, because in the various remains of slag and refuse left by them in Bilsdale, Bransdale, Rosedale, Furnace House in Fryupdale, Rievaulx Abbey, and other places, no traces of this main seam of ironstone have been found, although "dogger band" and "nodules" have been so found along with the charcoal and slag. The quotations just given, afford some idea of the antiquity of smelting from the other beds. The Rievaulx Abbey district is in the oolite formation, and in several instances in the different districts, the slag remains can be identified with, and are in close proximity to, the "dogger bands" in the ironstone seam known as the top seam, which I have never found to be the case with the main seam. I therefore conclude that the operations of the Romans and monks, as also the shipments spoken of to Newcastle, all belong to the "dogger bands" in the so-called top seam, and to the "nodules," except as named about the shipments to Lemington, in my remarks on those works.

I have been informed that in 1790, a gentleman from Whitby, being at Skelton, either discovered, or thought he had discovered iron ore in that estate, and sought by correspondence during that year, with the late Mr. Wharton, or his agent, to take it on lease; and again in 1798 and 1800, but the late Mr. Wharton would not listen to any proposal. The late Mr. Rutter, land-agent, had in his possession, as recently as 1850, three original letters of this correspondence, but, which, I have not been able to see.

In 1811, the late William Ward Jackson, of Normanby Hall, had large samples (6 or 8 cart or wagon loads) of this ironstone from near Upsal, in his property, sent to some ironworks on the Tyne, but the answer brought back by the men, was to this effect — "Tell your master it is good for nothing." This stone must have gone to the Lemington iron-works, as Messrs. Losh, Wilson, and Bell, to whom it is said to have been sent, had no blast furnaces until 1842. This may be said to be the first application (if not the discovery itself) of this ironstone, anyhow, the first of which we have any authentic account. In the same year, viz : 1811 or in 1812, the late Thos. Jackson, of Lazenby, opened out and laid bare the full height of this ironstone in Lazenby Banks; he then trying to draw attention to it as ironstone. This place now forms part of the Eston ironstone mines, and thus, Eston and Normanby can lay claim to the earliest application, if not discovery of this stone.

Coming to more recent dates, I find that Mr. J. Bewick, sen., in 1827 or 1828, (as previously named) had twice examined the coast from the Tees to Flambro', as well as part of the inland country, and reported to Mr. B. Thompson, then of Birtley iron-works, the existence of this main seam of ironstone, and in a private lecture delivered in the winter of 1854, at Grosmont, by Mr. J. Bewick, jun., he states, that "the only reason why operations were not then commenced, was the fear that a sufficient number of ships would not be obtainable for beaching purposes, and which, subsequent experience has shown was well founded; public railways then being very little known, the ironstone in the interior of the country was not thought of without which, it could never have been worked."

In 1828, the Rev. George Young, A.M., in writing on the Yorkshire coast,³ makes several remarks on the ironstone in Cleveland, but without giving any value to this main or thick bed. After stating that the ironstone holds a conspicuous place in the ironstone and sandstone division, he says, "It appears to be partly calcareous, partly argillaceous, and has been ascertained to yield 15 per cent. of iron, being collected for an iron-foundry at Newcastle." He further says, "the beds are seldom more than 9 or 10 inches thick" — thus, clearly showing, that here the main seam was not meant. The thick, or main seam, is however pointed out in the section given, in describing the Boulby cliffs, viz: "6. Main bed of aluminous schistus or alum-rock, 200 feet. 7. — Imperfect seams or fiat nodules of hard blue limestone, mixed with alum-shale, 10 feet. 8. — Hard compact alum-shale, 30 feet. 9. — Ironstone in beds, or rows of nodules, interstratified with the shale, 15 feet;" the latter being evidently the main seam, He further speaks of several bands of ironstone, and says, that estimates have been made of the proportion of iron, being "from 30 to 60 per cent.," an estimation which he remarks, "is perhaps beyond the truth"; so, that although he maybe said to have faintly identified the main bed, he still attributed no commercial value thereto.

In 1829 Professor Phillips' work, already referred to, was published, from which I give the following quotations, showing that, although he thoroughly identified this thick bed, and gives it the true geological position, he places no value thereon. The first extract is from his "Tabular View of the Series of Yorkshire Strata," viz.

which rocks he more minutely describes afterwards, as follows, viz.

In No. 14, the ironstone known as the top seam is found, and in No. 16 the main thick bed. lie afterwards identifies both seams, viz. :— "At Kettleness, from the sandstone mock, just above the alum works, to the has scars beneath, we have the following section :—

The 4 feet being the so-called top seam, and the last mentioned 20 feet being the main seam.

Further on in the work, Nos. 16 and 17 are again described as follows:

"16. Ironstone and marlstone series consisting of — a The ironstone bands, which are numerous layers of firmly connected nodules of ironstone, often septiarate, and enclosing dicotyledonous wood, pectines, aviculae, terebratulae, &c., twenty to forty feet. b The marlstone series, consisting of alternations of sandy lias shale, and sandstones, which are frequently calcareous and generally full of shells. The lower beds are usually most solid and project from the cliffs in broad floors, covered with pectines, cardia, dentalia, aviculae, gryphaeae, &c.; thickness variable from forty to one hundred and twenty feet.

"17. Lower lias shale, more solid, less fissile, and generally of coarser and more sandy texture than 15," (being the upper lias shale), "with a different suite of organic remains, amongst which plicatulae, gryphaeae, and pinnea, are perhaps most characteristic; thickness exposed in Huntchiffe less than two hundred feet, at the Peak three hundred feet, but the bottom is nowhere seen."

Having now given a sufficiency of extracts from Professor Phillips' work to show his knowledge of the true position, it now only remains to give another as to the value he put on the ironstone in the "Eastern part of the county," viz.: "The principal repositories of this mineral are above the grey limestone, and below the upper lias or alum shale. It is at present of no value except as ballast."

Before leaving this work, however, I ought to say that the sections given therein are of the greatest utility in tracing this ironstone formation on the coast, as is also, generally, Professor Phillips' Map of the Geology of Yorkshire, published in 1853, (since the application of the discovery of this ironstone); and while making allusion to the latter it may not here be out of place to call attention to the fact of some landed proprietors having been much misled by the upper and lower lias formations being tinted alike, and thus drawing conclusions that as the lias was shewn on their estates, this main bed of ironstone was there also, whereas it turned. out they only had the lower lias, and that this main bed of ironstone was not in their properties. It may be worth while to consider the propriety hereafter of distinguishing the upper and lower. I have made an attempt to do so in the outline Geological Map of this district which I attach hereto (see Map No. 2).

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01 — Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire, 1829, by John Phillips, F.G.S.

02 — History and Antiquities of Cleveland, published in 1846, by J. W. Ord, F.G.S.L.

03 — Geological survey of the Yorkshire Coast, 1828, by the Rev. Geo. Young, A.M., assisted by Mr. John Bird.