Næs Ironworks

Historie

Næs Jernverk or Næs verk in Holt, was an iron works which started operation in 1665 under the name “Baaseland Værk”. The blast furnace and foundry were located at the Båsland farm, while the associated forge was located a kilometer further east, by the Storelva river at Næs. The blast furnace was new, and not an extension of the Barbu jernverk at Arendal which ceased operations in the 1650s. “Baaseland Værk” was given the name Naes blast furnace operation when the buildings were concentrated by Storelva in 1738. About 1840 the firm was renamed Jacob Aall & Søn. It ceased operation in 1959.HistoryWhile Ulrich Schnell was the sole owner of Baaselands Værk, he decided to relocate the blast furnace to the Storelva to take advantage of the water power available. In 1738 operations were centralized in Naes, and the name of the operation was changed to Næs Jernverk. Meanwhile, a new dam to power the hammers was built in Storelva. Infrastructure was included; for example in 1740 a permanent school building was constructed. During the decades of the 1750s and 1760s favorable economic conditions allowed Schnell to expand the business to a significant undertaking. Tvedestrand harbor was the center for shipping the products. The iron ore came was supplied from Arendal, from the Lyngroth mines in Froland and Solberg mine in Holt. The smelter used charcoal for fuel, and farmers in the surrounding district (Holt, Vegarshei, Amli) were required to burn timber to charcoal and deliver the charcoal to the iron works.