The forgotten powerhouse in the forest

Long before the Industrial Revolution reshaped Britain, the Sussex Weald was already alive with heat and hammering.

Fernhurst Furnace, tucked deep into woodland near the Surrey border, is a surviving relic of Britain's early iron industry.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the site produced cast iron for making household items, farm tools and cannons.

Speaking to BBC Secret Sussex at the site, researcher Jeremy Hodgkinson said the furnace "stood as tall as a house".

"The sound of the industry would have been all around us.

"The roar of the furnace, the sounds of people digging iron ore and chopping down trees for making charcoal.

"There would have been a lot of workmen here in one way or another."

But he added: "All you can hear now is the wind in the trees, the sound of birdsong, and the gentle trickle of water."

Hodgkinson told the BBC the site - now a Scheduled Ancient Monument - was chosen primarily because there was a supply of water.

Water was needed to turn over water wheels, which would then operate the machinery," he explained.

Hodgkinson added it is a "complete misnomer" to describe the area as ancient woodland.

"There wouldn't have been a tree left standing around here [as the furnace would have consumed so much wood]."

Robin and Carla Barnes, who own the land, said no one had any idea about the furnace until 1987.

That was not until a wall of a property near the site's pond started "looking a bit drunk and disorderly", Robin said.

Investigations were launched and it was later proven by archaeological excavation that a blast furnace had been there.

"It has been a learning curve," Robin continued.

Robin told the BBC he and Carla were proud they had conserved the site and made it "resilient enough to not require any further major repair works for 50, 100 years".

"I just hope that next generations can explore [and] excavate the other pieces of it.

"There's plenty more to be done."

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