anvil and horseshoe

Blacksmiths & Farriers

Country blacksmiths were usually farriers, and this meant their work was to shoe horses for all members of the community. They would also provide a service making tools for craftsmen and repairing machinery for farmers. They might be involved in wheelwrighting, where their skills would be required in the fitting of metal rims round the wooden wheels. They were experts in welding and were sometimes required to complete commissions to do ornamental wrought iron work.

Farriery workers shoeing a horse
branscombe forge

The forge, or smithy, was often situated on the outskirts of the village because of the fire risk, being timber-built structures with thatched roofs. Outside a water trough would provide water for the horses, as well as a resource for cooling metal and extinguishing fires. The hearth inside the forge would be built of brick and was free standing, and here the bellows ensured the fire would reach the high temperatures required. The blacksmiths needed regular amounts of charcoal or small coals, as well as rods of iron for the horseshoes, and had to be near a supplier of these.

A mature chestnut tree would stand outside the forge workshop, providing shade for the waiting horses. Village children would congregate round a smithy and watch the daily proceedings, as it was a place of interest and excitement for them in their simple lives.

chapel lawn farriers
blacksmith fitting shoe

Farriers traditionally dealt with lameness in horses and would offer advice. Under the Veterinary Surgeons Act of 1880, they were no longer permitted to do this, but lack of local veterinaries meant that farriers carried on giving treatment.

In the 1890s a growing craze for cycling was developing, and blacksmiths were needed to repair wheels because of the rough roads. Some forges became agencies that supplied and repaired bicycles. Automation meant that primitive and unreliable motor carriages were beginning to appear and again, blacksmiths were required for their maintenance, some forges even becoming garages. 

Edwardian women cyclists
stanley steam car 1921

Farm machinery was also changing, and heavy horses were being used less. In WW1 thousands of horses were requisitioned, forcing farrier work to decline. After the war, machine-made horseshoes were available, lessening the need for handmade ones.

The role of the Blacksmith was fast changing during the Edwardian period. Most had to diversify into other trades as the demand for their traditional services changed.