The Church Street and Frogham forges in Nonington

The Church Street forge in Nonington.

Early inns and alehouses often had a smithy adjoining or nearby and the old  “White Horse” alehouse  buildings, now Church House next to St. Mary’s Church in Church Street (now Pinner’s Lane),  probably date back to the mid to late 1500’s or earlier and occupied a central position in the old parish of Nonington next to the church and on an important cross-roads.

The village black smith played a vital part in village life, in addition to shoeing horses the smith made the metal items needed for everyday living and working.  James Knott, smith and house holder, was buried on June 19th, 1600, having previously married Anne Pollarde on May 12th,  1595, and may well have been the smith at the Church Street forge as records of the “White Horse” date back to this time.

Nonington Church and environs, extract from the 1859 Poor Law Commissioners parish map.

When William Hammond, a member of the family that owned St. Alban’s Court, bought  “The White Horse”  from the heirs of Thomas Pettit in 1700 the property consisted of “all that messuage or tenement with the barns stables smiths forge buildings courtyards gardens and all that part or parcell of arable land enjoining by estimation two acres more or less”  indicating there had probably been a forge there for some time prior to the sale as stable buildings are mentioned in a 1659 sale document.
However, when the premises were sold by Mrs. Elizabeth Beake, the heiress of  the late William Hammond, to William Hammond of St. Albans Court in the 1750’s they had  been divided into “that messuage or tenement situated at Nonington in a place there called Church Street and called or known by the name of the White Horse with outhouses buildings orchards gardens about half acre” and “a smiths forge” occupying about half an acre and consisting of  “stables outhouses yards gardens backsides and lands” in the tenure of Henry Spain, the son of Christopher Spain, the previous blacksmith. The Spains continued as blacksmiths here until 1801 when Andrew Morgan took over the  the forge and in 1832 he took over the “White Horse” premises when the alehouse closed.

The Morgan family worked the forge throughout the 1800’s and became blacksmiths and veterinary surgeons in the later part of the century. They gave up blacksmithing in the early 1900’s but continued for some years as veterinary surgeons. The picture on the right is a 1920 portrait, possibly a trade card, of Charles Morgan, veterinary, and the last of the Morgans to run the blacksmith’s business at the Church Street forge. 

In his 1930’s memoirs Richard Jarvis Arnold, an elderly Nonington born Walmer blacksmith described his apprenticing in 1887 to Charles Morgan, blacksmith and veterinary surgeon. At that time“ three men and two apprentices were then employed there and that there was a good amount of work from the farms of Nonington and the surrounding villages”.

Oscar Vernon Gunning, M.R.C.V.S., was listed in the 1922 Kelly’s Directory as veterinary surgeon and shoeing and jobbing blacksmith at Church House, and not long after was succeeded by George Cork who worked the forge assisted by George Henry Beer who in turn took over the forge to become the last full time blacksmith at the Church Street forge, working there until just after the start of the Second World War.

George Beer was  known as “Sniffer” because of his frequent sniffing. Many villagers believed this was the result of his having  been gassed in the Great War, but was actually caused by a broken nose received in an accident.

The following information was given to me by Alf Beer, one of George’s sons:

“Details about my Dad and his sniffing are as follows: I suppose it would have been when he was a teenager, he with some of his brother’s, or mates, were messing about with some workman’s tools,[I think he mentioned it was a pick axe] that were being used to dig a trench, up Butcher’s Alley, somehow my Dad got hit in the face and it broke his nose, which was never set properly, he also suffered later in life with catarrh which left him with this permanent sniff.
“Dad had the forge at Nonington from 1930-1940, he closed it due to lack of business, farm machinery was becoming mechanized, although he could turn his hand to many things to do with metal, I think the main work would have been shoeing horses, and when these animals started to disappear, so did the business, he also repaired and renovated machinery that was not mechanized, but there was not enough of this to make the business profitable so he closed down. The key was handed to the elder Scothorn [at Church House,
(later the dairy and now a private house)] who bought the building when it was sold off as part of the St Albans Estate sale sometime between 1935-1938 (the sale was in 1938).
“He also had a side line at the forge – cutting hair for family and villagers – price 6d!”

Before he married in 1914 my late grand-father, Frank Webb, used to go out long-netting for rabbits with members of the Beer family who then lived at Esole Fields Cottage on Mill Lane. They went out at night to evade the local game-keepers as a conviction for poaching was punished with a fine or even imprisonment. Fines could be heavy as the local land-owners also sat as magistrates  on the bench at the Wingham Petty Sessions. The dead rabbits were taken in suitcases by train to Dover and sold to customers there. Dressed rabbits were sold for 6d each, and the skins fetched 2d or 3d each and were used in the fur trade

After George Beer left the forge some part-time blacksmithing was carried out by a Mr. Dixon until the early 1950’s when it finally closed. The forge building survived for some years but was unfortunately hastily demolished by its then owner at the end of the 1950’s. 

Frogham Forge.

On the 1839 and 1859 Nonington parish tithe maps and the 1870’s Ordnance Survey map  the Frogham forge or smithy is shown occupying the roughly triangular piece of ground next to the thatched cottage at the of bottom of the hill leading from Frogham to Barfreston.

The old Frogham Forge buildings, a blow up from a water-colour of Frogham Farm, artist unknown.

William Abbot is listed recorded as paying parish rates for a forge in Frogham from a much earlier date and although the site of his forge is not specifically identified it was almost certainly on this site. The smithy is shown on both 1839 Nonington Tithe map and 1859 Nonington Poor Law Commissioners map and recorded in both maps accompanying apportionment [rate payable] ledger.

William Abbot, blacksmith, aged 55 and his wife, Elizabeth, aged 40, were listed in the 1841 as living in the cottage next to the forge with boarders Robert Friend, a  journeyman blacksmith aged 35, and Thomas Goodban, an apprentice aged 15.  These later two would have been employed in the forge by William Abbot, a master blacksmith.

In the 1851 census the household consisted of William Abbot,  aged 65 and born in the adjoining parish of Eythorne, Elizabeth, now said to be aged 53, and their son Alfred, a 16 year old apprentice blacksmith. Also living and presumably working there was Isaac Anderson, a 22 year old blacksmith.

Frogham forge & the blacksmith’s house, from the 1859 Poor Law Commissioners map of the parish of Nonington

By the time of the 1861 census shows the household as being William Abbot, blacksmith, aged, his wife Elizabeth, aged 63, and Alfred Abbot, aged 26 and now a blacksmith.

By 1871 “Forge Cottage”, and the neighbouring forge had had a change of occupancy. The new blacksmith was Robert Friend, the journeyman blacksmith previously recorded as living at “Forge Cottage” as an employee and boarder in the 1841 census. The censuses from 1851 and 1861 record Robert Friend as living in Barfreston, so it is possible that he was employed by William Abbot at the Frogham Forge before succeeding him as the forge’s proprietor.
Robert, whose age was given as 63, lived there with his wife Frances, also aged 63. Robert was recorded as employing one man, this was presumably his son, also named Robert. By this time Robert senior had probably become a master blacksmith and had his son as his apprentice.

The 1871 census records Robert junior, aged 22 and borne just up the hill in Barfreston, and as later living there with his wife Mary Ann, aged 22, and their two daughters, Henrietta Frances and Louisa Mary, aged 1 year, and 1 month respectively. Robert junior’s age indicates that Robert senior married at some time in the mid to late 1840’s and moved to live in Barfreston where Robert junior was born around 1849.

Robert senior was still resident at “Forge Cottage” at the time of the 1881 census but he was by now a widower aged 72, and Ann Collis, his widowed sister who was recorded as aged 66, lived with him. Presumably Robert junior still worked for him as the 1891 census recorded Robert Friend, aged 43, as the blacksmith living in “Forge Cottage” with his wife Mary, aged 42,  and five children. During the 1870’s Robert and Mary Friend had both been baptised as adults at Eythorne Baptist Church.
At the time of the 1901 census Robert was still listed as a blacksmith and living in the cottage next to the forge with Mary, his wife,  and their daughter Gertrude. Ten years later the 1911 census lists Robert and Mary Friend as living in Barham, and his occupation is recorded as a retired blacksmith living on his own means. 

7 Comments

  • sarah ebanks

    i come from the line of beers of nonington, george beer was the brother of walter beer who had a daughter phyllis margaret beer, who was my nan, she married ernest r scothorn and my great grandad was ernest scothorn who was the dairymen

  • Alan Bottell

    I would like to know more about the Morgan family in Nonington and where they came from?

  • Lesley Spain

    My family, the Spain’s were also part of the forges in 1600’s. I would love to see more photos if any come to light!

  • julie morgan

    i love to hear about my family the morgan i have been doing the family history

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