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Welsh Bronze Cannon Casting
Early British bronze cannon-casting tradition developed by bellfounders and metalworkers in Wales and the Welsh Marches, casting bronze gun barrels b…
Timeline
- c. 1375–1410Foundries on the Welsh-English border · English MarchesBellfounders in Wales and the Marches used bronze-alloy casting techniques to trial early gun barrels; the barrels were short with limited powder charges, used mainly for castle defense and experimental coastal deployment.
- 1415–1430Gun foundries in southern England · EnglandDuring Henry V's expedition to France, demand for siege artillery surged; the crown ordered bronze cannons from Welsh and English craftsmen, and cannon casting expanded from bell foundries into dedicated gun foundries.
- 1431–1440Cannon-casting centers in Wales and England · EnglandIn the 1430s, Welsh founders collaborated with the English royal ordnance office to mass-cast bronze cannons with breech rings and reinforcing hoops; calibre and chamber designs became standardized, supplying garrisons in Gascony and Normandy.
Sources
- The Artillery of James II: The Bronze Ordnance of the First Tower Place at Edinburgh Castle in 1457 — R. D. Smith (1995)
- Bombards: Montjuïc and Other Early European Cannon — Kelly DeVries (2011)