Affluent covers quite a lot of ground. Pretty much every 'third-world' country sees a decline in birth-rate when their women find out that there's life beyond being a baby-factory. Freeing their womenfolk to do work that generates an income is their first step to becoming affluent.
The latter.
Although the drive seemed to ignore the railings and gates of the stately homes and estate lands owned by much of the Gentry. Can’t have the peasants entering and the pheasants escaping.
GH
Back in the day it was iron. Today's blacksmiths use mild steel. Smelted iron is naturally high carbon and is brittle, Bashing it around while red hot gets rid of a lot of carbon and makes it 'wrought' iron and bashing it even more turns it to steel.
Until the Bessemer converter came along that was how you made steel IIRC,
Wrought iron had *some* tensile strength compared to cast iron and opened up new possibilities for things like - again IIRC - suspension bridges.
Er no. Read the article. Wrought iron is not steel. Although it's on the way
Same here, in my 1901 terraced house. I sit in front of a 1-bar fire.
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