Greensforge is a scattered hamlet on the boundary of

Kinver Kinver is a large village in the District of South Staffordshire in Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the ...

and Swindon parishes, in

South Staffordshire South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of the West Midlands county, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south. It contains notable settleme ...

, England. It is noted for its Roman associations and its industrial heritage.

Etymology

The hamlet takes its name from a

finery forge A finery forge is a forge used to produce wrought iron from pig iron by decarburization in a process called "fining" which involved liquifying cast iron in a fining hearth and removing carbon from the molten cast iron through oxidation. Fine ...

established there in the early 17th century: Mr Green's Forge. This was typical of early industrial development all along the

Smestow Brook The Smestow Brook, sometimes called the River Smestow, is a small river that plays an important part in the drainage of Wolverhampton, South Staffordshire, and parts of Dudley in the United Kingdom, and has contributed to the industrial developm ...

, in which bloomeries,

foundries A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and forges used local water supplies and charcoal.

History

The hamlet was not the earliest settlement in the area. The name Greensforge is also used for a group of Romans forts lying on the west of the brook, partly in Ashwood. The remains of one fort, extending to 2.3 hectares, are visible as a low banked enclosure on either side of Mile Flat, just east of the canal locks and wharf. This dates from period 60-80 AD. It was identified at least as early as the 18th century and numerous finds of pottery and other objects were made before it was excavated in 1929. The other, earlier, 1.8 hectare site was detected only because of air photography, but subsequently confirmed by archaeological excavation. This is a

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost en ...

structure, dating from the earliest days of the Roman occupation. It was built to utilise the defensive possibilities of the Smestow Brook and its tributary the Dawley Brook, which today feeds into the canal through the marina at Ashwood. There are also the remains of several Roman marching camps in the immediate area. The eponymous forge replaced a decayed mill on the Smestow Brook. Greensforge formed part of a strip of meadows along the

, which were

assart Assarting is the act of clearing forested lands for use in agriculture or other purposes. In English land law, it was illegal to assart any part of a royal forest without permission. This was the greatest trespass that could be committed i ...

lands of

Kinver Forest Kinver Forest was a Royal Forest, mainly in Staffordshire. Extent References to "forest" in Domesday Book suggest that the forest was of similar extent in 1086 and in the 14th century. Its precise extent in the intervening period can only be dedu ...

, i.e. lands cleared by medieval settlers. It was let to servants of

Lord Dudley Baron Dudley is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created circa 1440 for John Sutton, a soldier who served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The title descended in the Sutton family until the 17th century when Frances Sutton, the heir appa ...

and may have been used by

Dud Dudley Dudd (Dud) Dudley (1600–1684) was an English metallurgist, who fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War as a soldier, military engineer, and supplier of munitions. He was one of the first Englishmen to smelt iron ore using coke. ...

. The forge was converted to a

blade mill A blade mill was a variety of water mill used for sharpening newly fabricated blades, including scythes, swords, sickles, and knives. In the Sheffield area, they were known as cutlers wheels, scythesmiths wheels, etc. Examples are preserved in A ...

for sharpening

scythe A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tr ...

s and other edged tools in the 1680s. This was rebuilt as a

corn mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...

in the 19th century. This has recently (in 2008) been converted into flats.Staffordshire Past Track Record at
/ref> Around 1770, the

Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywoo ...

, planned by

James Brindley James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century. Early life Born ...

, was driven through Greensforge and it was opened in May 1772. A brick bridge was constructed, with wharf and locks. These remain, now overshadowing the river and mill, which lie a little to their west.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Greensforge Hamlets in Staffordshire Ironworks and steelworks in England Roman fortifications in England