The 'Old Forge' at Cressing Temple

Up until the First World War, every village had a forge and its blacksmith and farrier. Agricultural and domestic ironwork of all kinds was hand-fettled in the fire and the horses brought to shoe. Most of the equipment in this new exhibition came from Ashen and Rettendon and dates to the turn of the 20th century.

The forge itself is supplied by a drum bellows which blows air in on both the up and the down stroke. There is also a more conventional bellows which is older, possibly from the early 19th century. There is a heavy pillar drill with its powerful flywheel, a typical machine tool and this example is French. There are other bench tools for pipe bending and screw-cutting.

On the floor is an anvil and two swaging blocks for shaping sheet metal into channels and dishes. A huge cone (or mandrel) is for beating iron strip into hoops to make bindings for wheel hubs. Strapped to a post is a blacksmith's vice, a very powerful clamp used when shaping and cutting metal. There are tongs by the forge which were very important to the blackmith and each pair is handmade, often during the apprenticeship. There are also some hoof stands for the horses to rest their hooves on while being shod outside in the yard.

The tun in this picture is now the centre-piece of the Cullen Garden.

In the shop for repair is a wheelwright's winch and block and tackle and a knifegrinder's sharpening wheel. Hanging on the walls are examples of the blacksmith's craft giving an insight into the breadth of products that the forge supplied.

After the end of the First World War, mechanisation, mass production and the spread of the motor car moved the emphasis of the work away from the blacksmith to the mechanic and many forges became garages. Today blacksmithing is a rare craft limited to ornate ironwork and specialist commissions.