Foundry of Indret

The foundry of Indret is an industrial site created in 1777 on an island of the the Loire, downstream from Nantes, on the territory of the current commune of Indre. Created to run guns for the royal marine , it is today a site of the company DCNS (old Direction of Naval constructions).

Beginnings

The navy of war of the 18th century had considerable requirements in Artillerie: each vessel was equipped with a great number of guns (74 for the vessels known as “of 74”, etc) of various gauges, while at the same time the fleets knew an important increase in their manpower. Since the 17th century, the great majority of these guns are in “cast irons” (i.e. in cast iron in the contemporary terminology), much less expensive than the “green cast iron” (the Bronze).

The “process of the anglois”

In France, in the years 1760 and 1770, the guns were cast with the foot of blast furnaces specialized for this purpose, like those of Ruelle, in Angoumois. These blast furnaces consumed significant amounts of charcoals; they functioned during several months without interruption before being stopped for repair, several months also. In addition, if the cast iron were quite liquid during its production, there were not the means of again liquefying it after solidification. The guns missed or the foreign guns by gauges incompatible with the French balls were thus unusable, if not like ballast.

In Great Britain, on the other hand, one could since the turning of the century remelt guns or pig moulds of pig iron and cast iron in reverberatory furnaces. In the years 1760, the ironworks associate blast furnaces with coke and reverberatory furnaces to run guns or cylinders of Steam engine.

In 1775, Going of Houlière, a Languedocien officer and owner of forging mills in the area of Ales, goes in of England to study the manufacture of the Wrought iron by using the “pit coal” (the Houille). It observes in the factory of John Wilkison the manufacture of guns in the second fusion, by using coke pig iron remelted with the reverberatory furnace. He proposes, in a report/ratio with the king, to join William Wilkinson, younger brother of John, to assemble a factory of this type to France. In December of the same year, William Wilkinson is in Versailles and begins the construction of furnace of demonstration close to Marly.

The creation of Indret

The proposal for an association formulated by Going of Houlière is not adopted; on the other hand, the Minister for the Navy decides to get along directly with William Wilkinson. A treated is signed on March 11th 1777, envisaging the construction of a foundry of guns on the island of Indret. Wilkinson must supervise the work, directed by the inspector of the forging mills and manufactures of the navy, André Fougeroux de Secval the director of the navy in Nantes, Sourdeval, and an engineer of the civil buildings of the navy, Mangin. Following dissensions with Wilkinson, this one is replaced by Pierre Toufaire, engineer of the civil buildings of the navy in Rochefort, which arrives at Indret on September 29th, 1777.

Work begins on December 1st and its quickly undertaken: a furnace is brought into service as test; it is used to run gun in February 1778. A temporary drilling machine driven by a horse-gear is tested the next summer; the final drilling machine, which was actuated by a cast iron waterwheel using the water of the basin with tide, was finished in January 1779. One establishes between the foundry and the drilling machine a railway of 1100 m, made cast iron bars on cross-pieces in oak, to convey the guns; it is the first of this kind in France. The factory is thus since 1779 able to produce guns.

In March 1780, Pierre Toufaire describes the work like practically completed and harnesses himself with the drafting of a description of the foundry.

Sources

Public records, old funds of the Navy, in particular D/3/33, D/3/34 and C/7/325, like various volumes of the series B/1 and B/2.
Babron, “imperial establishments of the French Navy: Indret”, Re-examined maritime and colonial , first part: vol. 23, n°89 (May 1868), pp. 123-148, 1 pl, second part: vol. September 24th, th and th 1868, pp. 495-526, 4 pl.
W.H. Chaloner, “the John brothers and William Wilkinson and their relationship with the French metallurgy, 1775-1786”, Yearly of the East , n° 16,1956.
TOKEN ENTRY J. Conturie, History of the national foundry of Lane (1750-1940) and of the old foundries of iron guns of the marine, first part, 1750-1855 , Paris, 1951.
Kid, “an old foundry of the Navy: Indret”, 1e left, the Cast iron , n° April 8th, th and th - May-June 1933, p. 271.
A. Reyne, “a manufacturer of iron-foundries at the 18th century: Pierre Toufaire”, Re-examined history of the iron and steel industry , T. VI, 1965, n° 2, p. 87.
Philippe Rondo, “a large engineer at the 18th century, Toufaire, biographical study”, Bulletin of the Company of the historical files of Saintonge and Aunis , April 1884.

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