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The Blacksmith's Forge
'there was magic in the smoke filled air for a watching child'
To the right of the 'Yard'* of the family funeral business** was the blacksmith’s forge. This was a fascinating place. I remember him forging the leaf springs for the carriages and cars***. These were made of several curved strips of steel stacked one on top of the other, with each leaf being smaller and slightly less curved than the one below it.
The coke fire glowed red as air was blown through it from hand-operated bellows. A red-hot strip of steel was withdrawn from the fire and placed on the anvil. Sparks flew as the huge hammer rose and fell. Steam hissed when the hot strip was plunged into a trough of water. And there was magic in the smoke filled air for a watching child. * The 'Yard' was where the horses and the new-fangled cars were kept. The stables for the black funeral horses and the sheds for the horse-drawn hearses and carriages were in the upper part. In the lower section, separated by an open area, was the garage for the motor-hearse and cars. To the left of this was the mortuary. Above the stables was the coffin and hay loft, while to their right was the harness room with its evocative smell of polished leather. ** The origin of the family business was in the hackney-cab trade, when they would take passengers to and from the docks. On the second of April 1912, when the newly completed Titanic sailed from Belfast for Southampton on the first leg of its fateful voyage, a cab taking a passenger was late and he missed the sailing. Afterwards he thanked my grandparents. A colleague of mine suggested that if it were today he would sue them! *** I learned that my grandfather never liked cars. He said they went too fast to let you watch the world go by. |