Foundry House, Milkwall => Steel Works House ?, probably not (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Tuesday, February 02, 2016, 02:57 (3211 days ago) @ euansma

Thanks for that Mike, very helpful as ever.

Euansma, having already thoroughly studied the old maps it seems certain to me that the Steel Works House address can only relate to the buildings northwest of the Darkhill Furnace complex, as per my earlier post, they were labelled as "disused steel works" on the 1884 map and some buildings were still there on the later 1924 maps despite apparent encroaching from the quarry or similar, I also compared the maps to the modern Google Earth satellite imagery.

Re "Steel" as a place of residence, I've just used the Advanced Search looking for "Steel" in all this site's PRs for and cannot find any others in the Coleford area at all. Indeed I don't think we have Sarah's burial PR either.
However I was intrigued to see several PRs at a "Steel Works" address in Gorsley / Linton, an area I'd only ever associated with farming, yet there was an ironworks there four hundred years ago !
So yet again thanks to you guys and this great site for helping me learn !
http://htt.herefordshire.gov.uk/smrSearch/Monuments/Monument_Item.aspx?ID=23764

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A general web-search for "Steel Works House Milkwall" gave this super result.
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Titanic_Steel_and_Iron_Co

As well as giving the name & history for the Steel Company which occupied the Darkhill site in the later years after Mushet until it closed in 1871, ie the "disused Steel works" shown on the maps. It also states the site was used for a brickworks until 1960, which explains the traces visible on the modern satellite photos.
Even better, the small photo at top right carries this text, which my search engine found;
"shows one of the few remaining works buildings and the former office building, now 'Steel Works Cottage', at the northern corner of the site."

Clicking the photo enlarges it thus, http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/File:JD_Titanic02.jpg

I can't speak from experience but I think (from the maps etc) the hill behind is Gorsty Knoll, to the east, and the photo is taken from the trackbed of the old S&W railway which runs north towards Milkwall Station/Tufthorn then onto Coleford. Hence as mentioned before Steel Works House is approx where this 1924 map shows buildings labelled "old quarry" and "Spr", but clearly cannot be sure without walking the site.
http://maps.nls.uk/view/102346004

As Mike says, it looks like this cottage may still exist in some form, needs a visit in person to be sure. Various sites quote "Steelworks Cottage, Gorsty Knoll, Coleford, Glos, GL16 7LR", but no photos, and unsure how big an area this postcode covers, prob not just one property.

I think this all perfectly confirms where Sarah Russell spent her final days...maybe some more work needs to be done researching her life, in case that ties-in with the Frowens, but this seems unlikely to me given the date of her Burial in 1912.

Given that the House was a different name and in a different era, I don't think this was George Frowen's last home, and I now think he was indeed living up the road, at Coalway Old Road, nearer his earlier recorded home in Coleford.
(see my next post)