# Old Forge near Hempnall (Norfolk)



## hamishsfriend (Mar 17, 2011)

Most passers-by probably overlook this small ivy-clad building situated by the village's crossroads, and so had I, until a local resident told me what purpose it had once served. This used to be a blacksmith's shop. The first picture shows the view out of one of its broken windows. 












The oldest reference that I managed to find comes from a list of several estates in the area "to be Sold by Auction, if not disposed of before, on January 15, 1783, between the Hours of Twelve and Two, at the King's Head, in the Market-place, Norwich". Not quite a hundred years later, William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk in 1845 mentions two blacksmiths having worked here. The references about two blacksmiths having worked at this forge remain constant until 1884 although, obviously, over time the names change. The last bit of information pertains to the licence holder of the Hare and Hounds public house (closed in around 1935) in 1891 and 1892, who was also the village's blacksmith. 

And then the references stop. I am guessing that the shop probably closed in the 1950s and it has since, more or less, remained in a time capsule. Tools, a crucible and other paraphernalia can be seen on top of the furnace, where they were presumably left after the last fire had gone out. 





















The stone, iron-bound water trough, used for cooling the forged iron after having been taken out of the furnace, glowing red hot, is still in place at the furnace's front end. 






The anvil, however, has been removed. It would have sat on the block of wood seen here.






But the bellows are still attached to the beams that held them in place at the back of the furnace, including the chain that was used for operating them.











I am not sure what purpose the contraption affixed to one of the roof beams once served. Could it have been a hoist?











There is the usual clutter one would expect to see in a workshop, broken boxes containing unidentifiable (to me) bits and pieces, a great number of which can also be seen strewn about on the floor.











And this beautifully made sturdy old wooden wheelbarrow.


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## B7TMW (Mar 17, 2011)

What a find! Truly amazing that theres still bits and pieces from when it was operational in there. Seeing those benches made me thinnk, I wonder if anyone who worked there is still alive?


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## Black Shuck (Mar 17, 2011)

Well done Hamish, Norfolk Rurex at it's very best


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## hamishsfriend (Mar 17, 2011)

Thank you kindly, *Black Shuck*.


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## gingrove (Mar 17, 2011)

What a little gem! great find I hope that it won't get ruined now that it's out in the open


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## BahrainPete (Mar 18, 2011)

What a cracking little place you have found. I'm very surprised that it still contains so much after all this time. That bellows, with its old rivets, is a real gem. Well done.


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## night crawler (Mar 18, 2011)

Cheers for that, it brings back memories as I used yo work for a blacksmilth befor I left school.


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## ricasso (Mar 18, 2011)

thats a cracking little find! I would imagine the benches were probably used by the old chaps of the village as a meeting place, that was certainly the case in the old blacksmiths shop in our village, somewhere warm to meet and put the world to rights!


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## nelly (Mar 18, 2011)

Wow, those bellows made me sit up and pay attention.

Cracking find


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## hamishsfriend (Mar 18, 2011)

ricasso said:


> thats a cracking little find! I would imagine the benches were probably used by the old chaps of the village as a meeting place, that was certainly the case in the old blacksmiths shop in our village, somewhere warm to meet and put the world to rights!



Thank you. I think you are right, it must have been exactly the sort of meeting place you describe, like the old village post offices also often used to be. My first visit was about a year ago and nothing has been touched since. I hope it will remain this way.


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## Dirus_Strictus (Mar 18, 2011)

.
I am not sure what purpose the contraption affixed to one of the roof beams once served. Could it have been a hoist?
[/quote said:


> This looks as if it is an early form of Steelyard - a form of weighing device using a beam with arms of differing length each side of the fulcrum. The arm/lever at an angle above the straight beam is probably a stop mechanism, to support the main beam as the load to be weighed is hung from the hook on its short side. The long arm will originally have had some of reference markings punched into the surface, but rust will probably have obliterated all signs of these. One should also remember that the 'unit of weight' on early steelyards was probably unique to the area - a reference weight of some form provided by the local Squire for instance - bearing no comparison to the lbs and cwts we think of being used.
> 
> This forge is very old and as such the smith would have made all kinds of fixings such as nails, hooks and straps etc. These items were always sold by weight in the past - my hometown ironmonger was still selling nails, screws and washers by weight in the 1960s - so the presence of a weighing device in the old forge is not to be unexpected.


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## hamishsfriend (Mar 18, 2011)

*Dirus_Strictus * - Thank you very much for this very interesting information. Presumably not many of these have survived in their original setting.


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## UrbanX (Mar 18, 2011)

Black Shuck said:


> Rurex at it's very best



LOL took the words right out of my mouth!  Fantastic find, thanks for sharing, 99.99% of the population ignore gems like this.


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## ricasso (Mar 18, 2011)

Dirus_Strictus said:


> This looks as if it is an early form of Steelyard - a form of weighing device using a beam with arms of differing length each side of the fulcrum. The arm/lever at an angle above the straight beam is probably a stop mechanism, to support the main beam as the load to be weighed is hung from the hook on its short side. The long arm will originally have had some of reference markings punched into the surface, but rust will probably have obliterated all signs of these. One should also remember that the 'unit of weight' on early steelyards was probably unique to the area - a reference weight of some form provided by the local Squire for instance - bearing no comparison to the lbs and cwts we think of being used.
> 
> This forge is very old and as such the smith would have made all kinds of fixings such as nails, hooks and straps etc. These items were always sold by weight in the past - my hometown ironmonger was still selling nails, screws and washers by weight in the 1960s - so the presence of a weighing device in the old forge is not to be unexpected.



Steelyard hanging in my workshop (not as big but demonstrate's the principle),it can be turned upside down to use a differant calibration, it weighs in lbs and cwt, thats pounds and hundredweights for you kids, you can see the serrations on the bar for the weight to locate.


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## hamishsfriend (Mar 18, 2011)

Many thanks, *ricasso*!


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## Foxylady (Mar 18, 2011)

What a fabulous little find. I'm amazed to see the bellows still intact as well as the other interesting remains. Just goes to show that what looks like an old shed just might be hiding something wonderful.
Excellent!


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## Dirus_Strictus (Mar 19, 2011)

hamishsfriend said:


> *Dirus_Strictus * - Thank you very much for this very interesting information. Presumably not many of these have survived in their original setting.



Your photo is the only evidence of what could be a very early locally made one I have seen. However, Ricasso's excellent item shows just what can be saved/collected by people with a bit of interest in old industrial items.


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## ricasso (Mar 19, 2011)

Ive got a pair of these, plus two large brass faced Salter scales that I got from a farm auction up in the Welsh borders about 10 years ago,paid 8 quid if i remember correctly, the auction was full of people buying artifacts for those Godawful "theme" pubs! they missed these though!


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## manof2worlds (Mar 19, 2011)

Yet another great little find Evelyn, I might have to have a wander over to this little gem during the week if we get a day with decent weather


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## hamishsfriend (Mar 19, 2011)

Dirus_Strictus said:


> Your photo is the only evidence of what could be a very early locally made one I have seen. However, Ricasso's excellent item shows just what can be saved/collected by people with a bit of interest in old industrial items.



I agree. After your and Ricasso's explanation concerning the Steelyard, I have shown my photos to a conservation officer who has helped me in the past. He in turn has alerted a colleague who is responsible for the area the forge is located in. They don't seem to know about it and will get in touch with me, I hope something will be done. It would be a pity if this place were to be swallowed up by nature and forgotten about.


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## Dirus_Strictus (Mar 20, 2011)

hamishsfriend said:


> I agree. After your and Ricasso's explanation concerning the Steelyard, I have shown my photos to a conservation officer who has helped me in the past. He in turn has alerted a colleague who is responsible for the area the forge is located in. They don't seem to know about it and will get in touch with me, I hope something will be done. It would be a pity if this place were to be swallowed up by nature and forgotten about.



Good on you - at least it will be in the hands of somebody with a bit of clout. 

I have been looking closely at your two photographs of this item to work out the actual placement of this device in the forge. It appears that it was made specifically to hang on that beam, or one of very similar cross section, and also appears to hang above the anvil block. Given this specific location in the building, I wonder if your initial thoughts that it might be a lifting device, could be nearer the mark. I can certainly imagine that it could be very useful in supporting heavy hot objects on the anvil.

Whilst writing this I have realised that there could be a simpler and more important use for the thing - it could be part of the bellows pumping mechanism, allowing single person operation so to speak. Only someone like yourself who has been in the building will be able to add credence to this notion, you really need a 'birds eye view' to work out the relative positioning of the device, forge and bellows etc., as the usual photographic views will not allow this.

In any case no matter what the device turns out to be this little time capsule should be prevented from disappearing completely, whether it be by nature's hand or the developer's backhoe! Very few of us these days can even start to imagine how important these forges were to rural life in this country - I have clear memories as a 3 year old in the Autumn of '46 watching the local village smith shoe, what in hindsight were the last three pairs of working Shires on the family farm. The basic steel shoes he used had probably been made in the 100,000s by machine in Birmingham, but it was the skill of the farrier in fitting them which stuck in the mind of that grubby 3 year old on that sunny day. ( For those vaguely interested in the ramblings of an old fart, my father's wartime service had broadened his horizons and my side of the family joined the 'rat race' whilst my uncle took over the farm. Neither side of the family have had any complaints but no matter what people tell you, one never really forgets one's roots.)


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## hamishsfriend (Mar 20, 2011)

*Dirus_Strictus * - Thanks for your thoughts. Which-ever purpose the thing served, I don't think it is in any way connected with operating the bellows which are at the opposite end (at the back) of the furnace. Looking at pic #9 (from top) you can see the wooden framework behind the bellows. A long rounded piece of wood is leaning against it, and this looks as if it connected to the bellows via the length of chain dangling from it. The chain has a hook at its end. Looking at the bottom rear end of the bellows, there is another hook. I think that the bellows were operated by connecting the two hooks and then moving the round piece of wood upwards/downwards.

What we are looking at here is the set-up of an old working forge, as it used to look like when it was a place of work. Everything is still there and in its place, the only thing that has been taken away is the anvil. If there are any further developments I will report back here.


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## Dirus_Strictus (Mar 20, 2011)

Hamishsfriend,

Yes I saw the very crude bellows lever and frame, just have a feeling that this could be a later addition to get the bellows functioning again. The bellows look very well made and obviously somebody put a lot of effort and pride into their work, just wonder why somebody who took pride in the bellows cobbled together such a bloody crude lever and frame. The present lever and frame are obviously very old, but you can find old prints that show forges that have the bellows lever projecting towards the front of the hearth. Still child labour was cheap in those days, so most likely there was some poor lad pumping away no matter where the lever was sited.


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## Badoosh (Mar 20, 2011)

This is fantastic. Pretty surprising that the bellows are still there. Nice to see it documented before it's demod. Thanks for sharing!


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## Faing (Mar 20, 2011)

great find and somegood info coming out form everone, my 2cents wirth noe, The stone, iron-bound water trough is known to smithys as a BOSH. thank for postng,


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## hamishsfriend (Mar 20, 2011)

*Dirus_Strictus* - Mmmh, yes, I now understand what you mean. It is certainly a possibility.


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## Dirus_Strictus (Mar 21, 2011)

Faing said:


> The stone, iron-bound water trough is known to smithys as a BOSH.



You may be interested to know that the word 'Bosh' was also used in general British Rail engineering parlance - to describe the large heated tanks that contained Cresol based decarbonising liquid. All the major works ie Doncaster Plant Works or Derby Loco Works had a number of these baths to clean diesel engine components prior to overhaul. It was the job of the most junior lab assistant to sample these every month - a very dirty and smelly job which one always did after snap, cresol flavoured sandwiches do not settle well on the stomach!


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## Johnny5 (Mar 21, 2011)

*Great!*

Thank you for sharing your great shots and detailed information, I found it most interesting.


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## Norfolkbloke (Mar 22, 2011)

Very very cool!!

I lived just down the road in Long Stratton until quite recently, knew Hempnall quite well but don't recognize this little jem!!

NB


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## manof2worlds (Apr 9, 2011)

Rather than start a new thread, I thought I would add to this one.

In response to Hamishsfriends post, I took a trip over to this delightful little time capsule. It really does feel as though you are stepping back in time, there aren't many abandonments like this one left. It was quite something to see the tools etc still in place after so many years since they were last used.

Hamish gave you the brilliant "as you see it" photos, mine below aren't - you have been warned!!!

1. 




Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr

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Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr

3.




Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr

4.




Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr

5.




Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr

6.




Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr

7.




Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr

8.




Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr

9.




Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr

10.




Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr

11.




Old Blacksmith's Shop, Norfolk, U.K. by manof2worlds, on Flickr


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## hamishsfriend (Apr 9, 2011)

Always fascinating to see your excellent comparison shots, thanks for these!


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## smiler (Apr 9, 2011)

I liked both yours and Hamishsfriends pics, well done and thanks for sharing.


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## hamishsfriend (Jun 6, 2011)

Well, I did promise an update and can report that I have had word from the conservation people today:

The forge did indeed turn out to be quite interesting. The room housing the forge was found to be of fairly modern date, the reason being that it had been damaged by a lorry at some time in the past and mostly rebuilt. However, what remains of the original structure that adjoins it has an early timber frame. The conservation officer is well pleased about having been alerted to the building's existence (and contents).


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## kathyms (Jun 6, 2011)

*thank you*

a fantastic find thank you for shareing it.


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## Snips86x (Jun 6, 2011)

WOW! How quaint. This is a truly superb find and to still be in good condition.....rare. This should be part of a museum Stunning find. I love it!


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## John_D (Jun 6, 2011)

Fantastic find, hope that it now gets the correct attention and some conservation is the order of the day.


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## manof2worlds (Jun 7, 2011)

anpanman said:


> WOW! How quaint. This is a truly superb find and to still be in good condition.....rare. This should be part of a museum Stunning find. I love it!



Thanks, but the credit for the find must go to Hamishsfriend - she has done some great work finding and photographing these lovely locations. I'm happy to admit that many of the little places I get to photograph come about from that work.


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## Snips86x (Jun 7, 2011)

I completely agree. My mistake was not realizing that I was looking at the second page where you had added your images as well as hamish. Still, great shots from both of you!


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