Chain Bridge Forge, Spalding

Chain Bridge Forge

Chain Bridge Forge is an early 19th-century blacksmith's workshop, located in Spalding, Lincolnshire England.

It has been transformed into a living museum, open to the public on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, where visitors can learn all about Spalding's history, blacksmithing and the Forge through various displays, guides and videos. There are also opportunities to have a go at blacksmithing, watch demonstrations and buy iron-forged products.

The Forge is believed to have been purpose-built as a blacksmith's forge in the first half of the 19th century, when it was owned and run by Francis South.[1] The Forge derives its name from the foot-bridge which crosses the River Welland next to the building, and which was originally made of chains. Watercolours by Hilkiah Burgess in the Spalding Gentlemen's Society collection indicate that it was a draw bridge, designed to enable boats and barges to navigate up river from the Wash. At this time there was a working port at Spalding,[2] and the accounts for the period 1850-1860 show that the blacksmith of Chain Bridge Forge was servicing the boats here.[3]

In 1899 the forge came into the possession of Mr George Dodd [4] and remained in the family for three generations. During this period they predominately serviced the community by shoeing horses, and doing agricultural repairs. The twentieth century saw a steady decline in the blacksmith's role,[5] and adapting to this change Mr Geoffery Dodd, George Dodd's grandson, spent much of his career designing and building the frames for floats in Spalding's Flower Parade.[6]

In the 1980s, as Mr Dodd neared retirement and with the building in a poor state of repair, Mr Dodd approached the South Holland District Council to purchase the forge. After two years of discussions the site was purchased from him by the council for the nominal fee of £1, on 20 September 1988.[7] The building was restored in 1991 with the assistance of English Heritage, by Spalding builders R.G. Sharman, on behalf of the District Council.[8]

In 2011 the Friends of Chain Bridge Forge were formed to lead a new project to turn the Forge into a museum and heritage centre.[9] As part of their campaign to raise awareness of the building and the project, the Friends, with the assistance of South Holland District Council who still own and manage the property, opened the Forge to the public during the Spalding Flower Parade 2011.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Francis South is listed under the Spalding Blacksmiths as operating on High St. p553, Pigot and Co.'s National Commercial Directory for 1828-9, (London and Manchester, 1829)
  2. ↑ for more information on Spalding's Port see pp15-27 Leveritt, Norman, and Elsden, Michael J., Aspects of Spalding: 1790-1930 (Spalding, 1986)
  3. ↑ Edward Fisher's Daybooks 1850-1860 shows the boats using the port, the captains and work done for them, E.Fisher's Daybooks, Chain Bridge Forge Collection, contact via website www.chainbridgeforge.co.uk.
  4. ↑ Conveyance 6 July 1899, Chain Bridge Forge Collection, contact via website www.chainbridgeforge.co.uk.
  5. ↑ p281, A Companion to Early Twentieth-Century Britain, Historical Association (2003).
  6. ↑ Photographs and archives relating to this body of work can be found in the Chain Bridge Forge Collection, contact via website www.chainbridgeforge.co.uk.
  7. ↑ Conveyance, 20 September 1988, Chain Bridge Forge Collection, contact via website www.chainbridgeforge.co.uk.
  8. ↑ Lincolnshire Free Press, 15 October 1991
  9. ↑ www.chainbridgeforge.co.uk , Friends of Chain Bridge Forge, About Us.
  10. ↑ 'Appeal for helpers in forge bid' Lincolnshire Free Press Monday 9 May 2011.
  11. ↑ www.chainbridgeforge.co.uk, Friends of Chain Bridge Forge, Recent Announcements.

External links

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