Blacksmiths - what was life like?

Does anyone have any suggestions for books on the subject of life as a Blacksmith and the history of Blacksmithing? My father's mothers ancestors were all blacksmiths in Surrey - for well over 150 years it seems - and I'd be fascinated to know what life was like and what it entailed. I've recently learned that one family did their smithying in a forge on Leith Hill in Surrey, at the turn of the 18th / 19th centuries, and on visiting the area found what I presume is the building and attached cottage still there. It's the most idyllic spot, with an incredible view, but I imagine that life back then would have been hard. Any pointers gratefully received.

And of course if anyone has blacksmith ancestors in Surrey with the surname of Stovell or similar, please let me know.

 

My great grandfather and his forbears were blacksmiths in Berkshire and I'm interested in their lives too. There was an article in Your Family Tree magazine Nov 2012 about tracing blacksmiths and gave several links. I can post these if anyone is interested. I haven't come across any books - yet.

Yes Leith Hill is beautiful, not far from where I live.

 

Thanks Bee. I'd certainly be interested in those links if you were able to post. I don't think we bought the Nov issue of Your Family Tree, but I'll check that too. I imagine that with every village needing at least one blacksmith it was a pretty safe trade to be in, but I'd like to learn more.

 

After reading Bee's post above re Your Family Tree Mag, Nov 2012 that looks at Blacksmiths I checked their website and, by chance, it looks as if that particular issue is available as a free trial download for the I-pad / I-phone. I haven't tried it myself yet but will do so as soon as I'm home from work. This is the link for the download page. I'll report further !

 

Well I got home, got onto the I-pad, found the page on the Your Family Tree site, followed it all through and installed their App - and of course whilst the website still says this issue is available to download the App doesn't do it. You have to pay, and then, it seems, can download current issues only, and have to pay for them. Sorry to have got excited about that, but it's a blind alley !

 

I have been researching a tree as a present for someone who has generations of Blacksmiths in mid Devon. Bee, if you could scan and e mail the article perhaps??
I have culled something but it has a strong American bias, the YFT article possibly has greater relevance.

 

I am happy to do this but some guidance from a Moderator - Peter - about the best way to go about it would be helpful please.

 

Thank you Bee. I have asked Peter if there is a private message facility or how best to go about this.

 

Yes, but..... I'll take them if if anyone thinks it's wrong.

 

Thank you Bee. I promise not to use them for personal or financial gain.

 

As you will see I have now deleted the offending files. Mea culpa.

 

If you are interested in blacksmiths and blacksmithing (?) have you looked at this site?
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~blacksmiths/index.htm

 

Yes - I for one have seen that site before, and it's listed in the "Your Family Tree" article that Bee mentioned. A labour of love, but I couldn't see much about blacksmithing as a subject. Could be useful for someone investigating blacksmiths in particular counties.

 

Can I just add something about Blacksmiths that got me into a heated discussion in the 80’s with a very old family member of my wife’s. His claim to fame was that in 1979 (aged 82) he had been interviewed by an Open University team investigating “Industrial working life at the beginning of the 20th Century”. He told how he served his Blacksmithing apprenticeship, became a Journeyman and later a Smithy in his own right. But what the OU team wanted from him was his experience working in a Railway Works in a vast “Smithy” Workshop where he had been the Foreman; complete with Bowler Hat.

I had been able to listen to the family copy of the OU tape which was entertaining as much as I could understand: imagine a deep North Bucks/South Northants accent. The tape was littered with anecdotes, mild blasphemies and he constantly strayed off topic, until brought back by the OU team. The thing I picked up on was that time and again he would retort (imagine the vernacular)..”he weren’t no ‘Smithy’...he was a Striker; there bain’t more n’ handful of true Smithies in the place”.

Now as it happened I recalled my father explaining about a relative who had been a Striker, and having explained this did not mean he went on strike, but that he was an Apprentice Blacksmith. So I asked the question if the Strikers in his factory were in fact Apprenticed Blacksmiths; and then regretted asking!

Leaving aside the dialect vernacular and his anecdotes about “striking while the iron is hot” and joke about “when the Smithy nods his head, the Striker hits it”, I learned simply that a Striker worked as an assistant to the Smithy. He was not a Blacksmith (Smithy), or even an Apprentice Smithy, but –as would have it – usually a local man with muscle who was taught to wield a hammer.

His job was to strike the iron whilst the Smithy held it with tongs. He reluctantly admitted a good Striker was worth a ‘half-penny an hour’ more than a poor one, but that was about as far as it went. He also told me that long after he had retired, automatic power hammers replaced the Striker.

So now you know if you ever come across the term - as I have frequently in my Tree- a Blacksmith Striker or plain Striker is a Blacksmith’s assistant, especially if working in a Factory. However I add the rider that in the smaller Smithies, a striker was more often than not also serving an Apprenticeship.

 

Just in case people have yet to come across a Whitesmith in the family - as I recently found after some 10+ years of researching, - I advise there is indeed such a trade. The ancestor worked in the Jewelry Quarter in Birmingham, so there is a clue straight away. I cannot say precisely what the ancestor did, but the term Whitesmith applies to someone who works with "white" (light) metals, such as tin and pewter. It is usually a 'cold' process although there may be need to apply heat to help work and shape certain metals.

I understand the term is also used for someone employed in metal finishing work - such as filing or polishing - and this will apply regardless of the metal being worked. Wikipedia tells that it was a common occupation in pre-industrial times.

 

I have also come across this term used for a tinker, someone repairing pots and pans etc.

 

In researching my wife's family history, I have found a good 'pedigree' of blacksmiths and wheelwrights over several generations and lateral branches. They are mostly based in Cheshire, although some in early 20th century took up employment in Manchester, working in railway rolling stock manufacture.