Forest Green, The Smithy 1924
Photo ref: 75459X
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Photo ref: 75459X
Photo of Forest Green, The Smithy 1924

More about this scene

Even into the third decade of the 20th century, the blacksmith's role in rural life remained important. This smithy in this Wealden hamlet snuggled beneath the woods below Leith Hill was still busily occupied in the repair of farm machinery and the shoeing of horses. The smoke emerging from the chimney indicates that the furnace is alight, and the stooped figure of the blacksmith is visible in the open doorway.

A Selection of Memories from Forest Green

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. Here are some from Forest Green

Sparked a Memory for you?

If this has sparked a memory, why not share it here?

I moved to Forest Green when I was 2 but my whole family comes from the area. Christine Dendy (my maternal grandmother) was born in the village. Her parents were a housemaid and a gamekeeper/odd-job man for the Vaughan-Williams estate. My grandmother was born in the row of First World War council houses erected behind the village green and she married the son of a village shopkeeper from Ockley. Their ...see more