Yorkshire Almanac 2026

Unedited excerpt

If an excerpt is used in the book, it will be shorter, edited and, where applicable, translated.

October 7th.— Francis West, of Higham, shoemaker, was buried at Darton, aged about 80. He was well till last Tuesday at noon, then was suddenly taken ill, and died on Thursday. He has often told me that he could remember since there were so many large trees grew upon Higham Common, that he has walked from Dodworth Lane to the lane that leads to Barnby Furnace, on a summer day, and the sun could scarce shine on him; and now there is not so much as a stump to be seen, nor has not been for these many years last past.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Comment

Comment

Deforestation during West’s lifetime for blast furnaces such as Barnby stimulated the Baltic trade – but was that just for ship timbers? – New England? Charcoal was replaced by coke in blast furnaces following Abraham Darby the Elder’s example in 1709.

Higham Common was the area south of Higham. I can’t locate Dodworth Lane.

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Tags

Tags are assigned inclusively on the basis of an entry’s original text and any comment. You may find this confusing if you only read an entry excerpt.

• Abraham Darby I (1) W/G ·
• Baltic maritime trade (c. 1400–1800) (6) W/G ·
• 📌Barnby Furnace (2) W/G ·
• 📌Barnsley (24) W/G ·
• Blast furnace (5) W/G ·
• Bloomery (1) W/G ·
• Cast iron (2) W/G ·
• 📌Cawthorne (2) W/G ·
• Charcoal (3) W/G ·
• Coal (18) W/G ·
• Coke (fuel) (5) W/G ·
• 📌Darton (1) W/G ·
• Deforestation (1) W/G ·
• 📌Dodworth (17) W/G ·
• Early modern Europe (1) W/G ·
• Finery forge (1) W/G ·
• 📌Higham, South Yorkshire (1) W/G ·
• Hobson, John (32), enthusiastically morbid diarist of Dodworth Green (Barnsley), the date of whose own death is unknown W/G ·
• Industrial Revolution (22) W/G ·
• Iron (9) W/G ·
• Pig iron (1) W/G ·

All tags.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Comment

Comment

Deforestation during West’s lifetime for blast furnaces such as Barnby stimulated the Baltic trade – but was that just for ship timbers? – New England? Charcoal was replaced by coke in blast furnaces following Abraham Darby the Elder’s example in 1709.

Higham Common was the area south of Higham. I can’t locate Dodworth Lane.

Something to say? Get in touch

Similar

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Comment

Comment

The editor adds detail from other accounts.

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