+ One Day Craft Course Hot Metal Works

Welcome to our Blacksmith Experience Day!
Join us in our historic and atmospheric forge. It dates back to 1838 and is the oldest, continuously used forge in London. So, step back in time and craft steel with just fire, an anvil and your supreme efforts – just like the London Blacksmiths that came before.

+ Where We Are

We are based in the London Museum of Water & Steam in Brentford.
The Museum houses several working steam engines that previously supplied and circulated water across London.

+ What To Expect?

Our classes include a maximum of three participants. The day will start at 10:00am, with an arrival time of 9:45am. There will be break for lunch, and the day will finish at around 4:30pm, although this can vary, depending on how attendees progress
The aim is to ensure that you enjoy and experience as much as possible. So, you will be provided with a very friendly and informal hands-on introduction to the traditional craft of blacksmithing. During which, you will be given a hands-on introduction to the traditional craft of blacksmithing. The day is designed to teach six of the basic techniques used in Blacksmithing. In the morning, you will forge a small hook, during which you will learn how to use the anvil to draw down the metal to make a taper, how to start a scroll, how to use heat and quenching to control where the metal moves, how to hot punch and cut. This typically takes a couple of hours, at which point we break for lunch. After lunch, the skills learned in the morning will be reinforced in the afternoon through forging a poker, but in addition to some of those skills, you will learn how to hot twist, and use a top and bottom fuller set to neck the shaft of the poker. Once you have finished forging them, you will burnish and wax them, before taking them home at the end of the day.
All materials and safety wear will be provided at the workshop.

+ Requirements and Additional Information

Requirements and Additional Information For Safety Purposes:
you will need to wear steel toe cap boots/shoes, a long-sleeved top and trousers – preferably cotton and no man-made fibres. Lunch is not supplied. However, there is a museum café on site and a number of local shops within walking distance.

+ How to Get There

Hot Metal Works
London Museum of Water and Steam,
Green Dragon Lane
Brentford TW8 0EN
UK
- See Us on a Map

Public Transport
Buses: We are well served by a number of major bus routes. 65 (Ealing to Kingston, 24hour), 237 (Hounslow to White City), 267 (Fulwell to Hammersmith), 391 (Richmond to Fulham) . All buses stop at Kew Bridge Station. For evening events the N9 runs between Heathrow and Aldwych. The number 65 also stops outside The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.
Main Line Rail: Kew Bridge (South West Trains from Waterloo via Clapham Junction).
Tube: Gunnersbury (District Line then 237 or 267 bus) or Kew Gardens (District Line then 391 bus from Sandycombe Road 2 mins walk from the station towards Kew Gardens ), South Ealing (Piccadilly Line then 65 bus to Kew Bridge).

+ Pricing

The fee for a full-day course is £190.00. This can be purchased directly through myself (contact Neil Brown)or you can buy a gift voucher via craftcourses.com should you think the course is suitable for a friend or family member.
PLEASE NOTE – course cancellations will require a minimum of 30 days’ notice from the booked date to be eligible for a refund. This will not include the £40.00 administration fee. Additionally, courses can only be rebooked if the desired dates are available within that year. There will also be a rebooking charge of £15.00. Please see Craft Courses T&Cs regarding verified gift voucher codes.
Craft course fee is £190.00 per person and payable when booking the course either direct or when using Craft Courses.