Description

TODENHAM

1154/0/10002 THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP
25-JUL-08

GV II
A blacksmith's forge, dating originally from circa 1757, extended in the mid-late C19.

MATERIALS: The building is constructed from red brick laid in an irregular, mainly stretcher bond, with later brick for the western end and the upper courses across the building. The building is set under a Welsh slate roof.

PLAN: The forge is a single-depth, linear range, set against the high retaining wall of the churchyard to its rear.

EXTERIOR: The main elevation is of three unequal bays, that to the left having double plank and ledged doors under a timber lintel. The long central bay has two windows under timber lintels: a wide, timber casement with six narrow upright lights, and a smaller, pegged timber six-pane fixed light with mesh glazing. The separate store to the right has a narrow plank door dating from the later C19. The gable end is blind. There is a plain, square brick stack at the eastern end of the long, central bay. To the rear, the building rises only circa 30cm above the height of the retaining wall to the churchyard.

INTERIOR: The interior is divided into three unequal rooms, each running the depth of the structure. The left-hand room, probably the C19 shoeing room, has traces of a terracotta tiled floor beneath later debris, and an inserted timber ceiling across one end, to provide storage. A wide doorway, perhaps the original entrance door, leads into the forge, which has a furnace at either end, with raking chimney breasts in brick. A timber bench is fixed under the window. The room is open to the roof. The third room is a store, accessed only from the outside. The roof is a simple structure of narrow section timbers, formed from paired common rafters with single purlins, dating from the later C19, which extends across the entire building. Several independent timbers stretch across the central room, resting on the wall tops, to allow machinery and tools to hang. The walls of the rooms are spiked with narrow metal bars protruding from the mortar in the brickwork, to allow tools and forged items to hang.

HISTORY: Todenham is recorded back as far as the early C9, and mention is made in documentary records of a smith, sometimes more than one, working in the village from the C13 to the later C20. A forge is recorded in the C16, but there is a record of a new forge being built at Homestall End, the site of the Blacksmith's Shop, in 1757. This earliest phase appears to have consisted of a low, single-storey, one-bay building with a separate narrow bay at the east end, and a single furnace. It was extended westwards in the period post-1840, and the building's roof was raised later again, resulting in the replacement of the roof structure. A second furnace was added at the east end at this time, and the chimney of the earlier furnace was removed. The building has always been used as a blacksmith's forge; the tithe map of 1840 describes the building as a Blacksmith's Shop, and historical directories record the smith as George King in 1856, and Harry Gilson in 1897 and 1914. The Gilsons remained the village blacksmiths until the forge was closed up in 1964.

SOURCES: A History of the County of Gloucester (Victoria County History), Volume 6 (1965), 250-8
Gloucestershire Record Office documents D 1099/M 51, M12

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION
The Blacksmith's Shop is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* This village forge dates back to 1757, and retains a good deal of fabric from this date
* It remained in use as a forge from 1757 until 1964, and is unaltered since that date
* The evolution of the building is clearly expressed, and demonstrates the expansion of the business in the C19
* The forge retains two furnaces and other associated structures intact
* Group value with the adjacent Church of St Thomas of Canterbury (qv), and the other listed buildings and K6 telephone kiosk in the main street at the heart of the village

Reasons for Listing

The Blacksmith's Shop has been designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* This village forge dates back to 1757, and retains a good deal of fabric from this date
* It remained in use as a forge from 1757 until 1964, and is unaltered since that date
* The evolution of the building is clearly expressed, and demonstrates the expansion of the business during the C19
* The forge retains two furnaces and other associated structures intact
* Group value with the adjacent Church of St Thomas of Canterbury (Grade I), and the other listed buildings and K6 kiosk in the main street at the heart of the village

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671880

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)