Middle Forge, Lydney
near Lydney, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
1878 'FOREST OF DEAN. Fatal Accident at Lydney.—On Friday, a fatal accident occurred at the Middle Forge, to William Partridge, who had been employed for many years at the works as a "hollow-fire man." He was engaged in breaking an old cast-iron wheel, for which work a "bot" is used, viz., a heavy weight of iron, drawn to an altitude by means of a crane, when it is allowed to fall upon the object to be broken. In this instance, as the "bot" dropped upon the wheel, the latter broke in several pieces, one of which struck Partridge upon the breast and killed him instantly. The distressing occurrence will form the subject of an inquiry before the district coroner.'[1]
The forge worked from the 17th to the 19th century, and was located at the north end of Lydney. It was served by a reservoir fed by Cannop Brook.[2]
Note: There is scope for confusion between this and Upper Forge, Lydney. The historian Cyril Hart notes that by 1607 Sir Edward Winter had a forge on the Newerne Stream called 'The 'Upper' - 'The Middle' of later years'.[3]