Much Hadham Forge
| Much Hadham Forge | |
|
Hertfordshire | |
|---|---|
 Much Hadham Forge | |
| Type: | Forge |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL42761925 |
| Location: | 51°51’13"N, -0°4’17"E |
| History | |
| Built 17th century | |
| Forge | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Restored |
| Owned by: | Hertfordshire Building Preservation Trust |
| Website: | hadhammuseum.org.uk |
Much Hadham Forge is an old farmhouse and blacksmith's forge beside the River Ash in Much Hadham in eastern Hertfordshire. Today the forge is opened as 'The Much Hadham Forge Museum'.
The forge is a Grade II* listed building. Once a farmhouse of the Moor Place Estate, the earlier parts of the building date from the 15th century. The forge and bellows room are part of a 17th century barn conversion, and in 1811 the shoeing room and blacksmith’s shop were added by a former owner, Frederick Page.
History and restoration
Four generations of the Page family ran the village smithy at Much Hadham until 1983, when the last smith, Charles Page, died. His daughter, Jean, gave the forge and its two cottages to the Hertfordshire Building Preservation Trust in 1988.
After the Trust received the buildings, volunteers restored the buildings and contents so that it could open as a museum in 1991. Further expansion and refurbishment were completed in 2009.
Museum
The Much Hadham Forge Museum features a local history gallery displaying collections from both Much and Little Hadham, and displays unique Elizabethan wall paintings. Galleries re devoted to the blacksmith in mythology, art and literature, and the work of the Page family at the forge. The museum has a café.
Outside links
References
- National Heritage List 1289340: The Forge, Forge Cottage and Horseshoe Cottage, Much Hadham