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Henry Cort: researched over the last
eight years, this site contains the most reliable and up-to-date information
on the British inventor. Please email
site controller Eric Alexander with any comments or queries. |
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Who was Henry Cort? Cort's ironmaking processes were key to the great
expansion of the industry in the early nineteenth century, thus providing an
essential ingredient for the railways, bridges and
machinery of the industrial revolution. Cort's
story also has a controversial element, because of allegations that his
downfall resulted from a conspiracy involving Government ministers. One purpose of this website (modified
September 2008 after the crucial evidence was discovered) is to dispel this myth. Past
attempts to discover more about Cort's life have
been hampered by difficulties in gaining access to the evidence. This task is much easier now that many
archive catalogues are computerised.
It nevertheless requires information from a wide variety of sources.
Winchester, Aberystwyth and Edinburgh are among places visited to get
the information on this website, although a large proportion has been found
at the National Archives. Development of website The
site was launched on 29th July 2006 (150th anniversary of a Times leader describing Cort as "father of
the iron trade"), and pages have been added periodically to cover a wide
spectrum of background events and attitudes, as well as the essentials of the
Cort story. Details of development and visitor
monitoring are covered on other pages. |
Pages of immediate interest Links to other sites National sites Institution of Civil Engineers Institution of Mechanical
Engineers Association
for Industrial Archaeology Library houses Mott collection British Artist Blacksmiths
Association Local sites Commemorated Cort, 2000 Henry
Cort Community College, Fareham Hampshire Industrial
Archaeological Society Gosport
local information Broseley Local History
Society Information on Shropshire ironmasters Industrial figures,
Sheffield area |
henrycort.net
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