Smithy, Upper Lumsdale

The smithy at Upper Lumsdale dates to the 18th century and is constructed of Derbyshire gritstone with a stone slate roof. The building is square in plan and single-storey with a gabled roof, featuring a chimney on the north-east end. The south-west elevation contains a double-leaf timber door with metal hinges and straps, above a timber lintel and featuring a keystone lintel and substantial quoining. A single two-light flush mullion window is situated on the south-east elevation.

A seven-course gritstone wall extends from the northern corner of the smithy, connecting it to the remains of a former bleach works. The corner of the smithy’s wall is indented on the north-east and north-west elevations and has been bricked up internally, indicating the former attachment to the bleach works. Two wells are associated with the smithy; one located just east of the northern corner of the building, and a second, covered well within the bleach works complex to the west of the smithy’s northern corner.

A paved area of flagstones lies to the left of the entrance. A gate pier is attached to the south-east wall, along with a 20th-century gate. The wall then continues along the southern boundary of the site.

Inside, the hearth is directly ahead of the entrance, with a tapering chimney rising to the ceiling. An anvil stone sits in the centre of the room, and a rectangular stone water trough is fixed to the north-west wall, used for cooling heated metal. A metal rod suspended from a central pier on the north-west wall extends to the corner of the hearth for tool hanging. An alcove is recessed into the south-east wall, to the right of the hearth. The hearth itself is built from gritstone blocks, with a wide stone sill that shows signs of wear from tool use. Below this sill are three recesses, possibly for air circulation or water storage. The hearth lintel consists of a central keystone flanked by two wider stones, with a metal support inserted in the 20th century. An opening on the left side of the hearth once housed bellows. Both the window and the blocked opening on the south-east wall have timber lintels. The 20th-century replacement timber roof structure is supported by the stone pier on the north-west wall.