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{{short description|Manager of an iron forge or blast furnace}}
[[Image:Ironbridge002.JPG|300px|thumb|upright=1.5|[[The Iron Bridge]] of [[Abraham Darby I|Abraham Darby]]'s [[Coalbrookdale]] works]]
An '''ironmaster''' is the manager, and usually owner, of a [[forge]] or [[blast furnace]] for the processing of [[iron]]. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the [[Industrial Revolution]], especially in [[Great Britain]].
The ironmaster was usually a large
There were ironmasters (possibly not called such) from the 17th century onwards, but they became more prominent with the great expansion in the British iron industry during the Industrial Revolution.
==17th
An early ironmaster was [[John Winter (
==18th
[[File:Portrait of John Wilkinson.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|"Iron mad" [[John Wilkinson (industrialist)|John Wilkinson]]
===Abraham Darby===
Three successive generations of the same family all bearing the name [[Abraham Darby (disambiguation)|Abraham Darby]] are renowned for their contributions to the development of the English iron industry. Their works at [[Coalbrookdale]] in Shropshire nurtured the start of improvements in [[metallurgy]] that allowed large-scale production of the iron that made the development of
===John Wilkinson===
One of the best
==
[[File:Samuel Van Leer.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|"Capt Van Leer" [[Samuel Van Leer]], (1747–1825)]]
[[Samuel Van Leer]] was a well-known ironmaster and a United States Army officer during the [[American Revolutionary War]]. He started a military career with enthusiasm with his neighbor General [[Anthony Wayne]] in 1775.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vanleerarchives.org/samuel-van-leer/|title=Samuel Van Leer welcomed the Revolution with enthusiasm.}}</ref> His furnace, [[Reading Furnace Historic District|Reading Furnace]] in Pennsylvania, supplied cannon and cannonballs for the [[Continental Army]].<ref>{{cite web | title = PHMC Historical Markers | work =Historical Marker Database | publisher = Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission | url =http://search.pahistoricalmarkers.com/ | access-date = December 20, 2013}}</ref> Van Leer's furnace was a center of colonial ironmaking and is associated with the introduction of the [[Franklin Stove]], and the retreat of [[George Washington]]'s army following its defeat at the [[Battle of Brandywine]], where they came for musket repairs.<ref>"General Washington retreated to Reading to have the army's muskets repaired,," ''Reading Furnace Historical Marker'', May 12, 1948.[https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-2AC]</ref> The location is listed as a temporary [[List of Washington's Headquarters during the Revolutionary War|George Washington Headquarter]].[[File:Reading Furnace and Farm buildings.JPG|thumb|upright=0.6|"Reading Furnace Property", [[Reading Furnace Historic District]]]]W<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ironandsteelheritage.org/SE/east_nantmeal.cfm|title=The Iron and Steel Heritage partners with Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.}}</ref> Van Leer's children all joined the iron business as well.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pennsylvania Historical Marker Search |url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/apps/historical-markers.html |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=www.phmc.state.pa.us}}</ref>
==19th-century ironmasters (examples)==
===Lowthian Bell===
[[File:Isaac Lowthian Bell - britischer Industrieller.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|[[Lowthian Bell]], (
[[Lowthian Bell]] (1816–1904) was, like Abraham Darby, the forceful patriarch of an ironmaking dynasty. Both his son [[Sir Hugh Bell, 2nd Baronet|Hugh Bell]] and his grandson Maurice Bell were directors of the Bell iron and steel company. His father, Thomas Bell, was a founder of [[Losh, Wilson and Bell]], an iron and alkali company. The firm had works at Walker, near [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], and at [[Port Clarence]], [[Middlesbrough]], contributing largely to the growth of those towns and of the economy of the northeast of England. Bell accumulated a large fortune, with mansions including [[Washington New Hall]], [[Rounton Grange]] near [[Northallerton]], and the mediaeval [[Mount Grace Priory]] near [[Osmotherley, North Yorkshire|Osmotherley]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Howell | first=Georgina | title=
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===Henry Bolckow and John Vaughan===
[[Henry Bolckow]] (1806–1878) and [[John Vaughan (Ironmaster)|John Vaughan]] (1799–1868) were lifelong business partners, friends, and brothers-in-law. They established what became the largest of all [[Victorian era]] iron and steel companies, [[Bolckow Vaughan]], in Middlesbrough. Bolckow brought financial acumen, and Vaughan brought ironmaking and engineering expertise. The two men trusted each other implicitly and "never interfered in the slightest degree with each other's work. Mr. Bolckow had the entire management of the financial department, while Mr. Vaughan as worthily controlled the practical work of the establishment." At its peak the firm was the largest steel producer in Britain, possibly in the world.<ref>{{cite
===Andrew Handyside===
▲[[Henry Bolckow]] (1806–1878) and [[John Vaughan (Ironmaster)|John Vaughan]] (1799–1868) were lifelong business partners, friends, and brothers-in-law. They established what became the largest of all [[Victorian era]] iron and steel companies, [[Bolckow Vaughan]], in Middlesbrough. Bolckow brought financial acumen, and Vaughan brought ironmaking and engineering expertise. The two men trusted each other implicitly and "never interfered in the slightest degree with each other's work. Mr. Bolckow had the entire management of the financial department, while Mr. Vaughan as worthily controlled the practical work of the establishment." At its peak the firm was the largest steel producer in Britain, possibly in the world.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/38/101038091 | title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | publisher=Oxford University Press | work=John Vaughan | accessdate=March 14, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | author1 = Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain) | doi = 10.1680/imotp.1869.23113 | title = Obituary. John Vaughan, 1799-1868 | journal = Minutes of the Proceedings | volume = 28 | issue = 1869 | pages = 622 | year = 1869 | pmid = | pmc = |issn = 1753-7843}}</ref>
[[Andrew Handyside and Company|Andrew Handyside]] (1805–1887) was born in Edinburgh and set up works in Derby where he made ornamental items, bridges and pillar boxes, many of which survive today.
==See also==▼
=== Samuel Richards ===
[[Samuel Richards (ironmaster)|Samuel Richards]] (1769-1842) was born in Philadelphia to William Richards, the manager of the [[Batsto Village, New Jersey|Batsto]] Iron Works beginning in 1784. Samuel Richards was heavily involved with the early [[19th century]] iron industry in southern [[New Jersey]]. His most notable enterprise was the management of the iron works at [[Atsion, New Jersey]] from 1824 until his death in 1842. He was also involved with [[Martha Furnace (New Jersey)|Martha Furnace]], and Weymouth Furnace.
▲==See also==
* [[Pig iron]]
* [[Wrought iron]]
==References==
{{reflist|33em}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
[[Category:Ironmasters| ]]
[[Category:Industrial Revolution]]
[[Category:History of metallurgy]]
[[Category:Metalworking occupations]]
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