New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1909-08-23
SUSSEX HAMMER pONns
Some ViUid Reminders of a Vauisbsa
Industry.

minders Of vanished industry Tbeso TO
surrounded by trees where rfvulets - poo's
artificially barred for the production OF zen seea
power sometimes they are approached bv 49,
Oeds OF ancient millraces; again they are a.,
powered IN leafy thickets, as in the silent ranr..
or ST. Leonards forest; not infrequently einSs.
heaps and piles of Stag lie near them. ana LOT
heavily coated with moss or uttaras -
bracken. and when the pond head is not
marshy weller there Is a siIvery surface -
fleet the cloud fringes overhead. Thesa b.
ponds are TO be found among the woodIa-s.
trom Lamoerhurst. in Kent through sussax -
tween the North and South Downs un,f -
Hampshire border is passed near I.iphook go
there are many of them In Surrey rha, -
the sites Of iron workings and FORCES as aros.-s
as the Roman occupation. or the Saxon jnva.,o.,
Of Britain, or the Tudor campaigns. For a..
turtles there was a fourishing Industry in A..
forest villages OF the northern belt OF sus.a-
Weald, where scores Of furnaces We're fed w.t.,
wood. and there was large output of iron n,
peace or war. The industry has been lost IN -.
course of irresistible competition from the Nor,s
Of England. where furnace and forge are ken, q,
operation by coal. There are now no signs ~ q.
except the names OF hills and copses Arebact.
in ancient cottages and iron gravestones in VII
lage churchyards. and the bright. shimmerin,
hammer ponds in sylvan glades
Fernhurst, midway between Nlidhurst on.
Haslemere. is a secluded village on the woodaa
tanks OF Breakdown. There is a picturesor.
church, with Norman Sits and shingIed spira
near the crossroads. and there are ramblIr,
lanes with Old-fashioned stone cottages and fovs.
gardens; but there Is nothing at first olar..
to suggest an abandoned stronghold OF the iron
industry. Yet some of the largest foundriss
and FORCES OF the WeaId were here, and cannon
for defence against the Armada and for the sub
jugation Of the rebellious American colonies vera
made among these verdant commons and fragrant
woodlands. The names on the ordnance survey
map reveal the secret Of the vanished industry.
for Minepit Copse. Iron Hill and Hammer Bot
tom the way to Liphook. and the paths
leading from the road into the woods have hers
and there surprise for ramblers. The holes for
castings used at Bunker Hill and Yorktown
against American rebels may no longer be found
in Verdley wood. the traditional site OF gun
making works. but there Is a marshy hammer
pond in the adjacent common with brooks trick
ling out OF the Ooze. and in the woods near
Shulbrede PriOry there signs Of dsused
pond head. with timewOrn raceways and heaDs
Of Stag. Further on. when Linchemere. with its
shingIed spire. has been passed. another ham
mer pond. with millraces. viii be found among
the Hampshire commons and copses.
Melancholy are these glimpses OF the bygons
industry. The ponds are shallow basins. with
margins Of fern and bracken. and around them
are frs and beeches TO protect their secIuslOn
and loneliness. The millraces. once Aecked with
foam. are either dry beds Of furze or myrtle
with splashes OF yellow or purple. or sluggish
trickles of water IN a waste OF heather The
fires have been damped so long that the endsr
heaps have lost their color and the mounds Of
Stag have been hidden with vegetable mould.
The mining districts have been emptied Of pOpu-
lation. and the forest ranges have reverted to
primeval simplicity and natural beauty. The
rambler among these Wild commons feels that
he is out OF the world when he discovers one
OF these silent pools in the woods The trees
thinned out and there is an opening for rich
mists Of sunlight. and there are fresher tones OF
foliage in consequence OF the moist breath OF
the pond head The birds know these beauty
spots. and with ShrilI note and hutterinS flight
resent disturbance from idle stroIlers. Thers
are no lOnelier hooks among the Sussex downs
than these silent sites of lost industry buried
among ferns and myrtles.
When summing himself on the brink Of one Of
these hammer ponds the summer rambler has
10 pinch himself vigorously in order to believe
what he has read in Mr.. Green's history about
the Roman workings IN these iron districts. or
the less trustworthy local traditions recorded N
the guide books that there were swarns OF Brit
ish miners In Sussex 20 offer Tesistance 70 inc
Saxons and that the guns for Drake and other
pioneers OF sea power came from FernhursI
Grinstead and Lamberhurst. The warhke OF
mechanic strain has passed out of the blood TOT
there are no duller or more sluggish peasants ID
rural England than the foresters, herdSmen anu
agricultural IabOrers oe the Weald. Equally mas
the country itself lost the aspect Of industri"
activity and progressive movement Ihe Tut
ests. which were once menaced with destruc-
ton when trees We're cut down for hreWood ~.
the furnaces and the talIest pines singled ous
masts for shipping. have increased IN ara
from conversion into shooting coverts. The VII
lagos are concealed among them, or are sepa-
rated by wild commons and tangles of under
brush Farms have shrunk in dimensions anu
there are broad sweeps OF sheepwalk on 'h'
edge of the woods How IS il possible TOT u'0
casual visitor To grasp the truth that TINS was
once a Black Country. with furnace hres ar
the smudge of an iron industry? The nan ~
bered or stone cottages. with their ncDS".-
walls and matched roofs. seem 10 belong
a district which has always been pastoral 90.
sylvan. The hammer ponds match the VIM
commons. and smoking furnaces and eahi'"
for the navy OF for piratical craft cannot DC az
ISOLATED with them without effort OF VIII
At Hammer Bottom red glaze ana So
faIence are made on small scale. Whe'0 80
was a centre of mining and ironWorKlhs' ~
among the villages around Hindhead siiA 49, 49,
ing and fancy textile industries are p'SeoS s+s
The rambler on a green lane through 'ie -
sees the modest signboaTd Of the 9o''ei''
moment before he Chambers over sUi0
follows path two brooks INTO 80
The brooks were once the raeewaYs Oh q -
mer pond. and they still foam and sursie -
something of their oldtime sparkle. O'7i
second one there Is a rough bit of stone h''S0'S'
which may have been cemented by the Romans.