The 19th C. Blacksmith - how many were needed in town or village?

[Keith Sherwood]

Maggie,
I don't need much of an excuse to step through the door of a second-hand bookshop, and had the time of my life in Hay-on-Wye for a few days in early August hunting for other titles.  And yes, I've come across a few women listed under blacksmiths in the 19thC directories.
Hay's not a million miles from Hereford, John, as you know, and I had no idea it housed the sole remaining blacksmith's college in the country...
Keith

[kmo]

Most villages had a blacksmith, also many estates had their own blacksmith.
Those would make much of the iron work needed for the estate. The wooden gates made on the estate sawyard would need iron hinges and  fastenings. Where I live the remaining wooden gates from the era when it was part of the estate, all have metal hinges, stamped with the initial of the landowner.
Apart from shoeing horses, there would also be all the agricultural implements to repair or straighten. New wearng parts to make.
He was really the forerunner of the agricultural mechanic, although today they tend to drive Ford Transits and possess mobile phones.

[Andi R]

Anything that involves bending, forming or hardening and treating of metal was the blacksmith - part of my apprenticeship was a few weeks with blacksmiths the first thing I had to make were the hinges for my tool box (we had to make them not just buy them) - no drills, to put the holes in , and no "Pop" rivets, we must have the strongest toolboxes in the country.  The blacksmith done almost everything.

Thing is with my ancestors some of his brothers were carpenters and joiners in the same village talk about a monoply

Andrew

[Keith Sherwood]

Kmo and Andrew,
I had no idea until now that a metal hinge could have so much individual personality of its own.  Being a totally impractical sort of person (putting together flatpacks is the very limit of my creativity), I just do not appreciate these little details of craftsmanship...
Although the blacksmith must run somewhere in my genes through my LINGLEY ancestors, from as late as 1890 to way back to 16thC. Suffolk, I cannot for the life of me imagine how hard and backbreaking, and surely how extremely skilful a craft it must have been; and still is, of course...
Keith

[1000xlch]

Watching my partners son bend a small bar into a poker point using a power hammer (instead of the striker who struck the metal on the anvil while the blacksmith turned the work) and made it look easy, ala Bruce Forsyth generation game and the italian dough making where they fling it around above their heads etc.  I had a go and burnt the metal off in the forge as it was to close to the centre of the very small fire.  Powere hammered it to get it square ended and to a point in a straight line and hit it with a hammer.  You certainly break sweat!  Not as easy as it looks.

John Rowley

[kiwi]

Hi ,

Don't forget all the 'bits' that go on a working horse's harness, as well as the iron wheel rims for carts, albeit the wheelwright made the actual wheel! The smithy must also have made the odd domestic item too............pots , pans etc.

Regards,
kiwi

[Headbanger Veron]

Hi

I just happened across this thread. I have a whole family of ancestors who were blacksmiths in naval dockyards, which must have provided a huge source of employment throughout the 19th century. So would the arsenals I would think.

They also seem to have travelled to where the work was. My gg Grandfather was born in Sheerness where he served his apprenticeship and worked his way up to Foreman, but then went to Portsmouth as a Master smith. His father and uncle had also been blacksmiths employed by the dockyard, and one of his sons became an engine fitter at Portsmouth.

I don't know what cross over there might have been between the rural smiths and these ones, but there was certainly no shortage of employment.

Regards, Veron

[Andi R]

Strangly enough I know of a vacancy for a blacksmith, seriously it was on local radio this morning

Andrew

[Keith Sherwood]

Veron,
Hadn't thought of how important blacksmiths would have been in the more industrial environment of the shipyards...
...and, Andrew, I think I shall forget my past associations with this versatile trade, and pass up the temptation to apply for that locally advertised job.  I wonder whether there is a shortage of trained blacksmiths today?
I expect someone at that College in Hereford could tell us...
Keith