Were there blacksmiths in England?

Question

I'm doing a report on blacksmiths and I want to know where blacksmiths were from.

Answer 1

Most definitely! They were an important part of life throughout history. You can refine the definition more closely, but as horses were the most important means of travel, used in war, carrying litters and drawing carts, they had to be looked after very well. A lame horse would have to be shod. This, I think, would be pretty well universal - except in South America in the early years when they didn't have horses.

Blacksmiths also forged swords, made armour, cooking pots and all kinds of things necessary to everyday life. If I'm correct, the Romans had a god, Vulcan, and one of his incarnations was as a blacksmith. Forges and smithies have also accrued a kind of mystical significance; there are ancient earthworks like Wayland's Smithy in England, near the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire.

Here's some history:
http://www.appaltree.net/aba/history.htm
http://www.horseshoes.com/assoc/nationalblacksmiths/nbwa/history.htm

Answer 2

At different times, there have been and are blacksmiths everywhere that three things could be found:
1 - iron ore
2 - fuel
3 - people

England in the 1700s was pretty much treeless because of the charcoal manufacturing that supported the iron industry. Also, the soot from charcoal and coal caused one or more species of moths to evolve a dark grey wing color as camouflage.

There are still blacksmiths in economically marginal areas of the world, including many parts of rural Africa, which in general has very iron-rich soil (especially south of the Sahara).

You might want to distinguish between blacksmiths, who worked iron into tools, and smelters, who refined ore into metal. They were not always the same people.

Answer 3

The links below are to part 1 and part 2 of the history of blacksmithing.