Bonawe Iron Furnace

The industrial complex was built in 1753 by Richard Ford's small business, the Newland Company. The site was chosen because there was enough wood in the area for the production of charcoal, as well as the fact that there was enough water pressure in the river to drive a water wheel. As the company itself was established in Cumbria, the blast furnace was managed by a local representative of the firm. During construction, most of the building materials were brought in from Cumbria. For the furnace to produce pig iron, it first had to be brought up to temperature, which took about one week. The oven was used almost continuously for nine months at a time. The complex employed as many as 600…

The part of the complex that was needed for the production of the pig iron consisted of four separate buildings. Two of these buildings were used for the storage of charcoal, one for the storage of iron ore, and one for the housing of the actual smelting furnace. In addition to these four buildings that had a central role, there were other buildings that were associated with the complex, such as buildings for the accommodation of workers, a home for the local representative of the Newland Company, and an aqueduct. There was also a pier for the supply of raw materials and shipping of finished product.