An early ironmaster was [[John Winter (royalist)|Sir John Winter]] (about 1600–1676) who owned substantial holdings in the [[Forest of Dean]]. During the [[English Civil War]] he cast canonscannons for [[Charles I of England|Charles I]].<ref>{{cite book |publisher = Collins |author = Wedgewood, C.V. |url = http://openlibrary.org/books/OL25430542M/The_King's_War_1641_-_1647 |title = The King's War 1641 - 1647 |edition = |publication-date = 1958}}</ref> Following the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]], Winter developed his interest in the iron industry, and experimented with a new type of [[Ferrous metallurgy#Transition to coke in England|coking oven]]. This was a precursor to the later work of [[Abraham Darby I]] who successfully used [[coke (fuel)|coke]] to smelt iron.<ref name="knight">{{cite book |last=Knight |first=Jeremy |title=Civil War and Restoration in Monmouthshire |publisher=Logaston Press |year=2005 |isbn=1-904396-41-0}}</ref>