At Ledbury: Blacksmith McRae

An unlikely place for a smithy, in modern day terms. Round the back of the pool, and behind a long blue line of garage doors. 150 years ago Steven McRae's blacksmith's forge stood and shod teams of coach horses. Its was for that reason, possibly as one of the most notable buildings in town.

Today, its notoriety has not entirely diminished with the rise of the concrete flats that have grown around its stone walls. The forge has struggled to keep its original condition too. The red brick floor floor just visible under a broken corner of 2 inch layer of skimmed concrete.

Its a part blessing I guess, the building had to give something up in order to remain a functional asset to the town. Its still here. A piece of british heritage small and yet so significant. Steven McRae's Blacksmithing has evolved too. Not that he was even hammering shoes onto hooves. McRae's hammering is artistic Blacksmithing. The forge now filled with iron experimentation. Lengths of iron, sheets of metal, shorter lengths already crafted into twigs, kinked and bent and knotted. Small lengths of brass lay like shiny gold pencils. Steven melts the metal with what looks like a blow torch onto the shiny breast of a cut shape of Robin. These are small pieces compared to his other much larger work. These are h.art keepsakes almost. His larger commissions by significant others. Namely George Harrison, (Steven famously mistook for him for the gardener). Marstons Brewery, Wellcome Glaxo and also appearing on the BBC's Curious gardeners and several newspaper articles.

Steven is an accessible artist. During the h.art trail, he has opened his workshop. The public meander through the workshop amongst the hammers and drills. His office space, originally a tied up for horses is now filled with collectable pieces. "Gosh I want both of these" says a customer. It's not surprising. It's also a relief. Stevens smithing keeps the building going. Long may it last.....x