The Raby Furnace

The Raby Furnace is a large blast-furnace built on a quarried site next to a culverted stream. It measures about 8 meters square at the base and tapers slightly towards the top. The furnace stands approximately 3 meters away from the quarried face, with its upper part connected by a vault that extends the full width of the furnace. It survives to the height of the charging area, which is now adjacent to a public road. The structure is made of coursed Pennant stone rubble and features arches on three sides, with small holes spaced regularly in the facing stonework.

The interior of the furnace is accessible only above the boshes level, where it has a diameter of about 4 meters, tapering upwards to about 2 meters at the top. Most of the vitrified firebrick lining, made of header fire-bricks, is still intact.

On the western side, there is a working arch that is segmental in shape and spans about 4.5 meters, although the throat masonry behind it has partially collapsed. The northern and southern sides contain narrower arches for blast pipes.

At a high level, the rock against which the furnace is built has been partially faced with masonry. Additionally, there is a masonry wall made of the same stone as the furnace, aligned north-south, located on the eastern side of the stream to the north of the furnace.