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(BWP version) (Watercolor 13 x 17 in. on 140 lb. cold-pressed stock) The Smithy at HM
Royal Arsenal and Foundry HM Royal Arsenal at Woolwich was a brass foundry which cast cannons for the Royal Army and Navy. Not long prior to the American Revolution, operations had deteriorated badly. In an attempt to right this, King (George?), retained a Dutch citizen, Peter Verbruggen and his son, who were reknowned cannon founders on the Continent. They removed to England with their families, and undertook to refurbish the Arsenal. Under their expert supervision, the entire founding operation was revamped and modernized, new equipment built and installed, and buildings and grounds expanded. The "Works" became in fact, a model industrial enterprise for its time. It happened that the Verbruggens, father and son, were outstanding watercolorists as well as topnotch founders, having studied under some of the great Masters in Holland. Fortunately for us, they painted dozens of pictures on the spot of every detail in casting and finishing cannon as practiced in the 18th Century. Their watercolor portfolio of these activities was discovered only recently, and for the first time scholars and others actually have detailed, accurate (and very beautiful) depictions of every technical detail in the cannon founding process! These pictures supplement the steel engravings and other art of the famous Diderot Encyclopedia, which shows slightly different contemporary techniques used on the Continent. Many scholars of the early Industrial Revolution have marveled at these paintings, made from life and on the spot, and by the Master of the very Works himself, in that they show not the "…dark and satanic mills…" that many associate with the rise of industry … but rather that they were light and airy buildings - largely Georgian architecture, clean and bright - with large skylights in the ceilings of the foundry bays and machine shops - and (as shown here) with many large leaded-pane windows admitting light and cross-ventilation. They were also very effectively laid out and showed awareness of work flow needs and raw materials handling. The foundry furnaces were very advanced for the time and there were many large timber cranes and sleds for transporting and moving the cumbersome cast barrels and the larger clay molds. It has even been noted that the workers are shown well and properly dressed, and safety aprons, shields and gloves may be seen in use… This copy I have painted as true to the original as I could - considering all I had to work from was a laserprint of a plate in Carel de Beer's "Art of Gunfounding" - an expensive and rare English book, the only reproduction source known to me today. This is a view of the "smithy" at the "Works". As the arsenal was a large foundry, the basic activity here was casting, not smithing. However, this smithy doubtless served as sort of a job shop and repair center for the Works at large. Here were no doubt forged all manner of iron tools, mold furniture, and building and maintenance hardware needed in day to day operations. The "smithy" however, was more an adjunct to the operation; smithing was not the prime activity here, but because I am interested in oldtime smithing, I chose to copy the smithing operations… Viewing the scene left to right, here is what we see: A vertical pivoting timber crane is visible with a large forged hanging hook-and-chain descending from its arm. The chain terminates in a sling; the crane in use would have pivoted vertically about the upright timber just behind the first human figure on the left. This vertical timber would have had iron pins let into the horizontal structural beam at top and into a floor receptacle permitting it to swing easily. This would have been used for handling heavy forge items, bar, and stock and assisting in getting such items into and out of the forge fires… On the floor lie some hoop flasks or adjustable frames of some kind, while behind them a group of sledges leans against the wall. Next is a most unusual type (and size!) of stake anvil, mounted in a stump. I have never seen one quite like this, though horned stake anvils were common for that time period (very long-horned special stake anvils were used by sheetmetal smiths who made coach horns!). At first, I thought this large stake anvil was meant to emphasize a sort of depth perspective by the original artist and as a counterbalance to the large foreground figure forging at the far right. I thought they were sort of counterpoised as part of his original "composition" and all - but even if so - the stake anvil would still be (as shown) at least waist high or higher, which is highly unusual for an anvil and hard to understand how a smith could effectively work at it. But all this is just as the original Dutch artist recorded it, so it must be as shown. It is possible that it was not only a double-horned stake anvil, but perhaps also a "blacksmith's helper" where the ends of long bars or rods rested while their further ends were in the forge… "Helpers" however, are usually adjustable in height and made differently… Behind the stake anvil, then, we see the first human figure. He is operating the Great Bellows, which is out of sight in the shadowy space behind the free-standing brick forge wall. You can see he is pulling down on the lever which works the Great Bellows. (These latter are two-chambered bellows, not the single chamber huff-and-puff fireplace bellows most people know. The chambers interconnect by means of wooden flapper valves which permit the bellows to deliver a continuous unbroken stream of air for draft when in operation. Contemporary accounts tell us the smithy would have resounded to the monotonous clack-clack-clack of the wooden flappers as they opened and shut over the sound of the hammers and other activities. (Once in a while some unburned coal gas might ignite in a blowback inside the bellows with a whoosh and much excitement..). The second figure from the left is "taking a heat" apparently on a small iron bar in the forge fire. His blue work coat has buttoned flaps at the rear in 18th Century style. Like the other workers, he wears knee britches and buckled shoes. His left leg is further covered by what may be part of his leather apron which we don't see all of - or it may be a (leather?) shield of some kind just for his lower legs, for it does not seem to be part of a full body apron. I have copied this just as shown in the original…Both in my copy and the original, one can see the tiny buttons of these garments, but I had to study the original with a magnifier for some time to locate all such details… The forge fire has been burning a while and the green, wet coal has given off most of its whitish gases. As it burned out inside itself, the smith smacked it repeatedly on the outside with his small forge shovel to compact the still wet coal and drive it together into a dense mass. Now, he has achieved his goal: a red-hot "tunnel" or "oven" into which he can thrust his iron for his "heat". This hot cavity is just breaking out at the rear and to the right of the coal mound as can be seen by the hot coals visible there. Eventually he will shake down this fire as it burns out, add more green coal and continue: smiths build and rebuild and remake their fires all day long to accommodate their varying needs for heat and size and depth of coals, etc. The smith's fire is actually one of his "tools"… Under the forge fire may be seen the arch of the ash drop where the clinkers will fall at end of day. Overhead a brick hood sticks out from the chimney back and is held up in front by iron rods from the overhead cross timber. Moving on to the right, we see the next figure - in faded red jacket and a small black tricorn hat of the period. He is apparently lifting a bar or rod with a pair of tongs. With his red jacket and black official-looking hat, he may be one of the King's Inspectors on a visit: diaries of the Works activities relate that there was a constant coming and going of inspectors and other officials from the King and the Admiralty and the War Office and other administrative quarters in London. Behind him at the back wall of the shop, are visible just faintly what may be some kind of frame saw hanging on the wall and perhaps the darkened entrance to another room just below it (?). A rather rusty expanse of what may be sheet metal seems to be stored here too. Further to the right are clearly visible a very large bow saw leaning against the wall, and closer to the viewer a familiar blacksmith's post vise at a workbench. On the wall itself hangs a circular tool or object of some kind, and behind the saw is a spare blacksmith's apron hanging on a hook! (This took some study of the original with a magnifier to figure this out!). On the shelf which runs along the wall, is clearly visible (even in the original) a round-crowned hat similar to the ones the first two figures are wearing… Why a bow saw in a smithy? Some of the brass cannons and mortar barrel tubes cast here were quite large. By the time depicted in the painting (1750 - 1780 - many of the cannon used against our Colonials in the Revolution were cast here at Woolwich!) the process was to cast solid and then "caliber" or bore the barrels. The cast tubes then were solid as they came from the cast "tubb" or pit and they often had projections on them several feet long of excess solid brass which had acted as a "head" or pressure reservoir of the molten metal during the upright casting process (and also as a trap for dross…). When the casts were removed and cooled, this projecting stub had to be laboriously removed by sawing it off flush with the muzzle face. In one instance recorded in the diary, teams of sawyers working around the clock, took more than 30 hours to saw through solid brass for one very large siege mortar… Perhaps the saw we see is one used for that purpose…I copied it just as it shows with its faint shadow on the wall. I painted it freehand and without aid, but if you look at my copy under a magnifier you will see the individual teeth in the saw blade! I like to do this kind of "micro detail" in my paintings… In the foreground, center, is a huge anvil of a very quaint and old-fashioned design. It is a hornless or table type as was most common in Europe from the Middle Ages on for heavy work: such as weapons, armor, ship's anchors, etc. Such an anvil pattern would be a rare find today and a museum piece if it ever turns up! It is mounted sturdily upon a section of stump… Note one smith has temporarily left his hammer on top of the anvil… Moving on then to the far right, we note at rear in the wall an apparently shuttered window and can only speculate why: for some of their work smiths like semi-gloom as it helps in judging "colors" and hence temperature for working of their irons. "Watching the colors run" when tempering steel is also done best when it is dark in the shop or even at night, when many oldtime smiths used to work. The middle window in the right wall is clearly glazed with diamond leaded panes. (Recall earlier comments re the modernness of this ancient Works…). I indulged myself in a bit of artistic license here, for in my rendering of the picture, I "micro-painted" in just the hint of adjacent brick buildings across the way from the smithy and you can just see these brick walls through this window if you use a magnifier on my copy. This view of the exterior is, as a matter of fact, just visible in the original through the sliver of the open door at extreme right in the front: we can just make out other adjacent mill and shop buildings outside and a bit of blue sky, and a wisp of white cloud overhead… The final figure in right foreground bends to his work in three-cornered hat and rough work coat (count his buttons!), knee britches and two pairs of heavy woolen ribbed stockings, the right one of which has suffered a "run" from a probable burn on the outside just below his calf - from the ever-present sparks and embers in a smithy which take a toll on flesh and clothes! The resultant hole in his stocking has "run" some, and reveals yet another ribbed stocking worn under the first! This is an actual detail copied from the original picture. Again, his "anvil" appears to be a massive cast block of some kind with even a low protrusion or "step" on it. It is exactly the kind of heavy-duty anvil one would expect in an industrial works, but not in the familiar "village smithy." It remains perhaps to note that the building is laid up nicely of bricks, coursed, and just a hint that the mortar work was thick and a bit on the rough side as far as finish on the interior… The floor is a surprise, for it reflects a very faint herringbone pattern and this is doubtless from fact it was nicely fitted with either brick or cut stone (much cut stone was used for the casting pits here at the King's showpiece armory, where lesser "Works" had to make do with oak staves…). BWP | Home |
