The Smithy

The Smithy is a one-and-a-half storey building constructed from limestone rubble, topped with a slate roof. It consists of two sections that share a continuous roof. On the left is the main double-forge smithy area, which has former domestic accommodation above it. To the right is a part-open, full-height shoeing bay. The main section features a near-centre entrance with an original boarded folding door that has been partly restored. On either side of the entrance are two modern 2-pane plain-glazed windows set in segmentally-arched openings; the window on the right is wider and has external boarded shutters. The attic floor includes two catslide dormers with 16-pane, part-tilting windows and slate-hung sides.

The shoeing bay on the right has low rubble walls on the left side, while the right side is open, supported by a full-height central rubble pier. The upper section of the shoeing bay is open to the eaves. There is a first-floor entrance with a boarded door on the left gable, and a lean-to log store in front of it. Adjacent to the right gable, there is a single-bay carthouse addition that steps down but remains flush with the main building. This addition features a large entrance with a curved oak bressummer and modern horizontally-boarded doors.

The smithy includes a large semi-circular forge built against the left gable end, with a crudely-stepped internal stack made of stone and brick. To the right of the forge is a part-blocked passage lined with rubble. The rear wall has a recess with some roof corbelling that relates to a second forge, which is no longer present. Inside, the ceiling beams are smoke-blackened and randomly joisted, and the floors are stone-flagged. The shoeing bay consists of two bays, with a modern floor inserted in part of it and a modern wooden stair providing access to the attic floor of the main smithy. This attic is accessible via a 19th-century first-floor lath-and-plaster wind porch and retains its wattle and dawb and lime-hair partitioning, along with a blocked window in the gable end.