Blacksmithing is the craft of shaping iron and steel by heating the metal in a forge and working it with hammers, anvils, swages and other tools. The blacksmith bends, twists, draws out, punches and fire-welds the metal to make everything from horseshoes and farm tools to gates, railings, firedogs and decorative ironwork.
Until the industrial era nearly every village had a smithy, and smiths supplied the hinges, latches, locks, cooking equipment and fireside tools that furnished country houses and cottages. Decorative wrought ironwork reached great heights in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when the French smith Jean Tijou worked at Hampton Court and English smiths such as Robert Bakewell made splendid gates and screens. Cast iron replaced much hand-forged work in the nineteenth century, but the Arts and Crafts movement revived interest in hand-wrought metalwork. Antique blacksmith-made pieces are recognised by hammer marks, fire-welded joints, slight irregularities and the fibrous texture of true wrought iron. Collectors value honest wear, original surface and good design, and well-made pieces bring a robust, practical character to kitchens, hearths and gardens.
