Dudley, Earls of, landed estates

Notes:

Earls of Dudley were major landowners in particular owning estates in the West Midlands at Dudley, Kingswinford, Rowley Regis, Sedgley, Tipton. These included coal and iron ore bearing lands which were developed by the Dudley family who also established industrial interests, especially iron and steel production, and transport infrastructure, eg canals. Their interests came to include Baggeridge Colliery and Round Oak Iron Works, Brierley Hill. Also quarried limestone. The 5th Lord Dudley, 1567-1643, was important in the estates' early industrial development, building, inter alia, four or five ironworks. Both he and his son, Dud Dudley, c1600-84, were important experimenters in the production of iron without charcoal, initially at Cradley, Pensnett Chase, and later elsewhere until Dud Dudley was sacked in c1630. Thereafter he continued to experiment with iron and lead smelting and made an important technical rather than commercial contribution. Dud Dudley in his book, 'Mellallum Martis', 1665, wrote about his achievements in producing iron using coal and not charcoal but his claims have been rejected by mid 20th century writers