ABSTRACT
A bloom hearth and a string hearth were made, both with the assistance of a bloomer from another bloomery. The string hearth would be used for working and cutting up the bloom after smelting. It is argued that since the oliver was sited near Wortley, Halifax, which is a hilly area with numerous streams near or on the Coal Measures, it was an ideal place for a water-powered bloomery forge with a hammer. The ore found at Harthope Mill is of the nodular type, and could well have come from the bell-pits revealed by open-cast mining at Rowntree Farm in 1959. While roasted ore was found at Harthope Mill, no roasting hearth was located; this is more likely to have been near the woods and coal pits. The Russian furnace was an improved version of the Stuckofen based on a design by Husgafel. The slags from the water-powered bloomeries are not very different from other medieval slags.
