MSO10443 - Old Forge, Winsford (Building)

The Tithe Map for Winsford shows the site as a clear plot. [1] A Smithy is shown on the 1st and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps at SS 9053 3487. [2,3] Shown as 'The Old Forge' on recent map and converted to a house. [4] A former forge is mentioned in a record of 1870 but was converted to a dwelling and lock up shop in the 1930s. [5] For a short time just before the war, there was a china and gift shop at the Old Forge, the blacksmith having retired in the late 1930s. The building is first mentioned in 1870 in a Conveyance, in possession of the Clatworthy family, with mention of Rt. Hon. Sir Francis Dyke Acland. When in use, it housed two blacksmiths and a wheelwright, with the neighbouring field ("Smithy Field") used to house horses while the carts and traps they pulled were repaired. In the 1930s, the interior was converted to a dwelling with a lock up shop infront and named "Riverside". It was sold to Mrs C Wilton in 1965 and renamed "Old Forge". [6] Winsford was designated as a conservation area in 2023. The new appraisal was produced as part of the adoption of the conservation area. [7]