Old Forge near Hempnall (Norfolk)

[Dirus_Strictus]

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.)

 

[hamishsfriend]

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.

 

[Dirus_Strictus]

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.

 

[Badoosh]

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

 

[Faing]

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,

 

[hamishsfriend]

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

 

[Dirus_Strictus]

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!

 

[Johnny5]

Great!

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

 

[Norfolkbloke]

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

 

[manof2worlds]

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

2.


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

 

[hamishsfriend]

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

 

[smiler]

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

 

[hamishsfriend]

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).

 

[kathyms]

thank you

a fantastic find thank you for shareing it.

 

[Snips86x]

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!

 

[John_D]

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

 

[manof2worlds]

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.

 

[Snips86x]

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!