as the London Lead Company) was chartered to run this, but this was evidently not successful and returned to Talbot (by then Sir Talbot) in 1695. 'A work for remelting and casting old iron with sea coal' was built at 'Fox Hall' (probably Vauxhall under the direction of Sir Clement. This was the first reverberatory furnace (in this case known as an 'air furnace') to be built for iron foundry purposes. This seems to have formed the basis for the Company for Making Iron with Pitcoal, though it may also have been intended to exploit a patent granted to Thomas Addison in 1692. The company ran its foundry for a few years, with Thomas Fox (the brother of Shadrach Fox of Coalbrookdale) as founder. Impact Sir Clement apparently guided many of these developments; though he probably did not personally benefit from them financially, his sons probably did. Sir Clement is certainly to be credited with the practical application of the reverberatory furnace (or cupola) to several metallurgical processes. Until the introduction in the late 18th century of the foundry cupola (which is a sort of small blast furnace), his air furnace was the normal way of remelting pig for foundry purposes. The cupola (reverberatory furnace) long remained in use for smelted copper and lead, and was applied by Robert Lyddall to tin. It is not clear where he obtained his knowledge of metallurgy, but it is possible that Dud Dudley was his teacher; certainly, his lead smelting efforts seem to be foreshadowed by an enterprise involving Dud Dudley at Okham Slade (location unknown) in Clifton, Bristol. Sir Clement died in debt in 1693. His baronetcy passed to Talbot, as did Launde Abbey, which was not swallowed by his debts because of his marriage settlement. References 1693 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England British metallurgists English inventors Year of birth unknown