Iron Puddler of Pelsall Iron Works

Puddling was thus a highly skilled and perilous occupation, demanding great muscular strength and tenacious concentration. The manual and physical labour of puddlers such as my grandfather was tedious, exhausting and unhealthy. Slaving for hours in such violent heat was a daily ordeal which either toughened men up or considerably shortened their lives.

Shropshire Giant

Only the most robust men could survive as iron puddlers. Although in photographs my grandfather did not appear heavily-built, some puddlers undoubtedly were. William Ball (1795-1852), the famous ‘Shropshire Giant’, worked as a puddler at the Coalbrookdale Company's Horsehay Ironworks for 40 years. He weighed over 40 stones. Because of his massive bulk, in 1850 he had to be hoisted onto his horse by a special crane to lead a procession to celebrate the birth of Alfred Darby II. The introduction of the puddling technique enabled iron, which was cheap and plentiful, to be used innovatively in constructing heavy machinery. The subsequent expansion of iron manufacture contributed hugely to the progress of the Industrial Revolution in Britain. In the nineteenth century coal and iron were undoubtedly the lifeblood of Pelsall, but nothing lasts forever. Strong foreign competition and the emergence of steel heralded the final days of Boaz Bloomer’s coal and iron company.
Dramatic Slump
In 1891 a dramatic slump in iron prices impelled the company into liquidation, and the ironworking families of Pelsall were forced to take up new trades or move right out of the area. Information on the 1891 census, and his children’s birth certificates, suggests that my grandfather remained in Pelsall but eschewed heavy manual labour in his subsequent employment, choosing instead the far less hazardous occupation of greengrocer. A wise decision, as John’s survival ensured that his family line continued down to a grandchild who, over a century later, would want to write an article about his arduous life as an iron puddler.

About Jan Green
Jan Green author of A Man of Iron

Born in 1946, Jan Green BA(Hons) has lived in the village of Fradley, near Lichfield, all her life. She is a freelance educational journalist and joint editor of Burntwood Family History Group’s journal. Now retired, she is currently working on a history of Fradley. She is also fighting to preserve Fradley’s old school house, built in 1875, where her grandmother taught between 1893-1923 and 3 successive generations of her family were pupils.
Jan's article "A Man of Iron" has appeared in Practical Family History Magazine May 2007 & was also featured by Local Historian Dr. Carl Chinn in his weekly Express & Star article "Black Country Memories" ( Thursday September 13th 2007).