L. June 30 / 57

My d^r K.

You are s^ch a g^d man of bsness

I h^v bⁿ int^dg t. write f^r sm time, but have bⁿ too unwell to do so, ow^g to y^e hot weather – I wishd to give you some acc^t of occurr^ces in our neighb^hood, & to ask y^r opinⁿ respect^g y^m as you are have such an excell t man of head for busness & moreover a practical knowl^ge of the subj^t – About a year ago a rich deposit of iron stone was found at Seend, one of the prett^st villages of N. Wiltsh, 6 miles fm here, seated on an insolt^d hill commnd^g a lovely prospect in all direct^ns The thickness of y^e bed of ore is ab^t 25 f^t, & appar^ty the whole hill of Seend is cappd w^th it: Great quarrying works were speedily undertaken by y^e owner of y^e land, & a tramroad laid down from the qua^y to the Kennet & Avon Canal & The ore is carr^d by water to Bristol & thence to Newport, Monm.sh. the The ore is so good that the iron Masters of Newport have contracts to purchase all that ca is raised. At present they are sending off to Newport 200 tons of ore per day – The value of land at Seend has risen to a fabulous price. This discovery set people to work diggi^g in all direct^ns & it was speedily soon ascert^d that another rich deposit occurs at Westbury – I was too lazy at first to try my luck Appr^ly the same geol^l formⁿ formerly cov^d an ext^siv tract of country but diluvial actⁿ has removd the greater part, and insolt^d port^ns alone remain, chiefly capping the hills – Hearing of these curious discov^s, I thought I w^d try my luck too, & accordingly made an Exploration of a particularly barren portⁿ of my property called Nethermore – We no sooner began to dig a hole here than we struck upon iron stone in abundance another hole made at the dist^ce of ¼ of a mile, gave y^e same result, & searching about we found large blocks of ore scatterd on the sface of y^e ground among the fir plant^s I took specimens of this ore to Seend to for comparison & show them to M^r May the intell^t manager of the works there- They were found to agree perfectly in all respects & in of appear^ce weight &c. but the Nethermore spec^ms seemd the fin best. We compris^g not only all the varieties found at Seend, but also a new kind of iron ore, w^ch I cannot find described, which has the appearance of iron in the metallic state, melted & run into drops, but is not really such, but very much harder than iron quite as hard as steel - I know not what to make of it, nor had M^r May ever seen such a subst^ce and could only suggest "volcanic action" as the origin of it - & the more practical suggestion to send it off to Lond, & ask for ye opinⁿ of scientific people to say what it was

In consq^ce of these discov^s I am nat^y anx^s I know what course it is advis^ble t take. This is not like the discov^y of a lead mine or a coal or a coalmine &c. w^ch minerals are gen^ly found at great depths; but here the ore lies on the surface, & in mass, so that it is rather quarrying than mining. I want partic^y to know if you c^d introduce me to any of the great Welsh iron maters who w^d be willing to purchase the ore in w^ch case I have no doubt that operat^ns the works might be successf^ly conducted on a large scale – probably the G. West. & S. Wales railways w^d agree to deliver the ore at so much p^r ton at Newport or Elsew^h on y^e line – But the great point w^th me is to see if an advantg^es contract can be made with some of y^e leading iron masters, as I have observd that the great capitalists are more trustworthy than Second rate people.

Before I end my letter I must ask whenever you

Adieu & pray tell me how The G Eastern gets on, I am rather doubtful about her launchig well; – suppose you can’t launch her? – Her first trip I see is to be to the U. States that is just what I sh^d have advised – The Yankees are so excitable, they will go wild w^h delight! about her –

Had Theodore before he went to Oxf^d any tutor who is now disposable & whom you w^d recomend? I am look^g out for a tutor for Charles dring the Summer hol^dys

[expanded version]

Lacock Abbey
June 30 / 1857

My dear Kit

You are such a good man of business

I have been intending to write for som time, but have been too unwell to do so, owing to the hot weather – I wished to give you some account of occurances in our neighborhood, and to ask your opinion respecting them as you are have such an excellent man of head for business and moreover a practical knowledge of the subject – About a year ago a rich deposit of iron stone was found at Seend, ^<1> one of the prettiest villages of North Wiltshire, six miles from here, seated on an isolated hill commanding a lovely prospect in all directions. The thickness of the bed of ore is about twenty five feet, and apparently the whole hill of Seend is capped with it: Great quarrying works were speedily undertaken by the owner of the land, and a tramroad laid down from the quarry to the Kennet & Avon Canal and the ore is carried by water to Bristol and thence to Newport, Monmouthshire. the The ore is so good that the iron Masters of Newport have contracts to purchase all that ca is raised. At present they are sending off to Newport two hundred tons of ore per day – The value of land at Seend has risen to a fabulous price. This discovery set people to work digging in all directions and it was speedily soon ascertained that another rich deposit occurs at Westbury ^<2> – I was too lazy at first to try my luck Apparently the same geological formation formerly covered an extensive tract of country but diluvial action has removed the greater part, and isolated portions alone remain, chiefly capping the hills – Hearing of these curious discoveries, I thought I would try my luck too, and accordingly made an Exploration of a particularly barren portion of my property called Nethermore ^<3> – We no sooner began to dig a hole here than we struck upon iron stone in abundance another hole made at the distance of a quarter of a mile, gave the same result, and searching about we found large blocks of ore scattered on the surface of the ground among the fir plantings. I took specimens of this ore to Seend for comparison and show them to M^r May ^<4> the intelligent manager of the works there- They were found to agree perfectly in all respects and in of appearance weight etc. but the Nethermore specimens seemde the fin best. We comprising not only all the varieties found at Seend, but also a new kind of iron ore, which I cannot find described, which has the appearance of iron in the metallic state, melted and run into drops, but is not really such, but very much harder than iron quite as hard as steel - I know not what to make of it, nor had M^r May ever seen such a substance and could only suggest "volcanic action" as the origin of it - and the more practical suggestion to send it off to London, and ask for the opinion of scientific people to say what it was

In consquence of these discoveries I am naturally anxious to know what course it is advisable to take. ^<5> This is not like the discovery of a lead mine or a coalmine etc. which minerals are generally found at great depths; but here the ore lies on the surface, and in mass, so that it is rather quarrying than mining. I want particularly to know if you could introduce me to any of the great Welsh iron masters who would be willing to purchase the ore in which case I have no doubt that operations the works might be successfully conducted on a large scale – probably the Great Western and South Wales railways would agree to deliver the ore at so much person at Newport or elsewhere on the line – But the great point with me is to see if an advantageous contract can be made with some of the leading iron masters, as I have observed that the great capitalists are more trustworthy than Second rate people.

Before I end my letter I must ask whenever you

Adieu and pray tell me how The Great Eastern^<6> gets on, I am rather doubtful about her launching well; – suppose you can't launch her?– Her first trip I see is to be to the United States that is just what I should have advised – The Yankees are so excitable, they will go wild with delight! about her – Had Theodore before he went to Oxford any tutor who is now disposable and whom you would recommend? I am looking out for a tutor for Charles during the Summer holidays^<7>?

^<1>

---

Notes:

1. About 10 km. south of Lacock. Iron ore was accidentally discovered there in 1666 when rainwater washed the sand away, but the lack of available wood because of the extensive 17^th deforestation made it impossible to smelt. Transfer of coal in the 19^th c. finally enabled the erection of three blast furnaces, which employed 300 men. Its production was flagging by the late 19^th c. but the demands of WW1 re-opened the pits. It was again opened in WW2 and finally shut down in 1946.

2. About 20 km. southwest of Lacock.

3. Nethermore Farm is about 2.5 km. east of Lacock.

4. John May - see Doc. No: 07450; Doc. No: 07453; Doc. No: 07461.

5. WHFT was still considering this scheme 15 years later - see Doc. No: 10031.

6. And iron-hulled sailing steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, by far the largest ship its day, capable of carrying 4000 passengers. When Brunel was forced to halt work due to lack of funds, he turned to Kit Talbot for advice, who told him to cheer up and handed him a cheque for £60,000! WHFT's scepticism was well considered, for several attempts at launching the behemouth failed, but she was finally put in the water on 31 January 1858. An explosion marred her maiden voyage, but she made her first trip to America on 17 June 1860

7. Theodore Mansel Talbot (1839-1876), Kit's son; Charles Henry Talbot (1842-1916), WHFT's only son.