Jan/Feb - Piddle Valley Community Website

wheelwright whilst my grandfather did the blacksmithing. After William
retired Charles was obliged to turn his hand to shoeing. The iron for the
shoes was supplied by Thomas Reynolds in Bristol and arrived by train at
Dorchester where Harry Hawker’s carrier’s cart collected it and transported it
back on the roof to the forge. Timber was collected in the same way on
Thursday afternoons (Early Closing Day in Dorchester) from Hutchings Sawmill
in Hazelbury Bryan. The plank shed was behind the house and was used to
store the timber whilst it was seasoned. This building was at right-angles to
the house and made of wood and tiles
I remember in the Forge hand bellows being used until we had electricity.
There was a second forge although I don’t recall seeing it in use. When a long
piece of iron was being worked it was passed through the archway into the
forge through a little wooden hatch opened on the door by the road. The
village was very quiet in those days with little traffic! The entrance for
customers was where it is now; wheel-bonding took place in the outside area.
Wilf, Harry Hawker’s son, used to do odd jobs for us and helped with wheelbonding,
hammering, pouring water on to cool the metal and even
gardening. My granddad used to call him Snowball because of his blond hair!
The Forge was always a very busy place: shoeing the horses as all the farms
had several horses and no tractors in the 1920’s! Also wheel bonding, the
children used to love watching that. My Dad used to build waggons and putt
carts or dung putts. I used to enjoy watching him in the carpenter’s shop,
rather than when he was shoeing the horses, although they stood very
quietly. My earliest memory is my grandfather doing the shoeing until he
retired in 1920’s then my Dad took over and later my late brother, George.
The forge had a great fascination to the children coming from school, looking
over the half door. Probably the fire was some attraction, kept alight by large
bellows which were pumped by hand until electricity arrived in the 1930’s.
What a relief this must have been! Wheel bonding was a big event. The
Bonding Stone was in the yard over which the wooden wheel was put. The
Iron Bond was heated and shut in the fire, then carried out to the wheel
whilst still hot and put on the wheel. A lot of hammering-sledge hammers
and then cold water was poured on to shrink
tight. This took several men!
The garden behind the house was planted
right to the top. Sometimes my friends and I
used to go to school or come home this way,
running along the edge of Closes and down
Tullons Lane. Grandad had a large fruit cage
half way up the garden. I expect that was
the attraction !
Bridget + Dave Bowen
‘ Aunty Joan’
© Rachel Hunt
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