Let's Hear it for the Smith by Deborah Swift

Without the smith most of life in previous centuries would be unthinkable, yet he often does not appear in historical novels. Nearly all of life was supported by the Smith. Forged tools were used by all other craftspeople such as shear hooks for thatchers or chisels for carpenters. All farmers and agricultural workers  relied on him for scythes, ploughs, rakes and so forth. Women used iron cooking pots, metal spoons and knives, all hand-made by the smith.

There were several different types of smith; the traditional blacksmith who shod horses and was an expert in veterinary practice, but also the brightsmith or whitesmith who polished his work to a higher degree of finish.  Cutlers and weaponry makers would come under this category. Some smiths made bells and included the business of bell-hanging in their trade, some were locksmiths manufacturing only locks and keys. Often they worked closely with wheelwrights (sometimes called wainwrights) to make the parts of wagons and coaches - a trade as complex as manufacturing a car today.In the period I enjoy writing about, the 17th century, all transport was by horse or horse and trap/carriage.

As well as large items, the blacksmith would often have apprentices making nails, hooks, hinges and other small items for every day use. Nails were used to hold everything together - furniture, shoes, musical instruments all required hand-made nails.

As the demand for nails was so great, some parts of the country specialized in nail-making. The improvement of slitting the iron into bars came from the France early in the 17th century, and this helped create an English nail trade. Godfrey Box built the first slitting mill in England at Dartford, Kent in 1590. It used water power to slit the iron.

Many forges were close to water because of the need to 'quench' the iron between heatings, and because the wheelwright often required water to soak and bend the wood for wheels. Because their trade involved keeping a fire going all day, villages often built the bake-house with its bread-oven near the smith's. So a symbiotic relationship between all the trades developed with each using the advantages of the other. I'm sure many smiths enjoyed the benefit of a hot pie at the end of their day's work!

18th century painting of a Forge by Wright of Derby

Some blacksmiths specialized in making cutlery and so came to be known as “cutlers”. They had a great knowledge of the properties of iron, and how to control the heating and cooling processes to achieve a particular result. These men made knives, scissors, razors and swords.

For my next novel 'A Divided Inheritance' I researched the making of swords and weaponry, which I will explore in a later post as making a cutting edge is a very specialized skill involving the creation of steel through tempering the metal. But just to whet your appetite, here is a section of a sword discovered hidden in Cropredy Church, believed part of a cache of arms left over from the English Civil War. More about this can be found by following this link.

Quote from www.thomasironworks.com

For more on the history of the Blacksmith I can recommend Simon Grant-Jones'website,

Also http://www.horshamhistory.org/Blacksmith-Millwrights

For more on nail-making http://www.sedgleymanor.com/

English Heritage's 'A Book of English Trades'

My book The Gilded Lily is currently this week's Giveaway, so pop over if you'd like to win a copy. You can also win a copy of The Midwife's Tale by Sam Thomas this week, just scroll down from my Giveaway.