Historic forge to be lit

As part of this year's Heritage Open Days and Ellesmere Festival the Canal & River Trust (CaRT) will be relighting the historic forge within the waterway yard.

This will take place on the weekend of the 14th and 15th of September, when CaRT will be opening the doors to the site, which was once the workplace of Thomas Telford.

Blacksmith in action

Visitors will be able to see inside some of the workshops and join on one of the ‘behind the scenes' guided tours. There will be activities for children and the opportunity to see a blacksmith in action operating the forge throughout the weekend. Saturn—the last horse-drawn Shropshire Union Fly-boat in the world will also be on display.

Much of the waterway yard is Grade II listed and there is a renovation project which has already seen the historic forge brought back into working order. Sarah Lalieu, CaRT Enterprise Manager explains:

"It was really important to us to get the forge working again and filled with the sounds, sights and smells of a working smithy, rather than just keep it as a museum piece preserved in aspic. Thanks to the work we have done it, we've been lease the workshop to a blacksmith, bringing the space back to life and giving visitors a glimpse of what it must have been like 200 years ago."

The Yard will be open on Saturday 14th September from 10am to 3pm and Sunday 15th September from 11am to 3pm.