The History & Restoration of Slindon Forge
The original Forge building you see today began life in the mid-19th century – (the exact date is unknown but no building is shown on the Tithe Map of 1837 and a small building is shown on the Ordnance Survey of 1879).
Initially, the building consisted of just the right-hand half of the building and may have been a wheelwright’s workshop (a blacksmith’s workshop and farriers stood in Dyers Lane at that stage).
The building was extended some time before the next Ordnance survey in 1896 – you can still ‘see the join’ in the brickwork today – and it is believed it became the village blacksmithy at that date.
The Forge was a thriving place at the heart of the village – but was sadly closed as a blacksmith’s workshop several years ago.
By 2009 this historically important and high profile village building was in a poor state of repair, and when Slindon Forge Society took over the lease on the building, major repairs were needed to stabilise the building and bring it up to scratch for its new use. We also built a major extension to house the café – and all the modern services were also sited in the extension to minimise alterations and changes to the historic fabric.
Our thanks to Nutbourne Construction, who undertook all the work, led by Dave Briant.