The Old Forge

On the back road in Ramelton the other day, taking some pics of local landmarks. And there was no shortage. Within yards of each other are the old forge, the former Methodist church, the former Presbyterian meeting house where 'the father of US Presbyterianism' worshipped, and more.

So here's Ramelton's 'door into the dark'. Seamus Heaney coined the phrase about the Bellaghy version -

THE FORGE

All I know is a door into the dark.
Outside, old axles and iron hoops rusting;
Inside, the hammered anvil's short-pitched ring,
The unpredictable fantail of sparks
Or hiss when a new shoe toughens in water. [ . .]


The stone at the front speaks of the blacksmith's trade. It's well sunk into the ground, and on top there are two nubs of metal. These are the remains of a metal piece which was seemingly used to hold a cartwheel in place when it was getting its metal 'tire' or hoop on. Here's a nice description from a site about the town of Alresford near Southampton on the south coast of England -

http://www.alresford.org/displayed/displayed_02-2.php Retrieved 13.44 Weds 9th April 2014 -

"I used to love to go with my father to watch the blacksmith fit the iron tyres to cartwheels. This consisted of measuring the outer edge of the wheel felloes with a small metal wheel; then a length of strip iron was bent, measured and shut together. This was then placed on bricks on the ground and faggots of wood heaped on the tyre, and kept alight until the tyre was red hot. Meantime the wheel was secured to a round metal disc by a screw in the centre - again on the ground. When it was judged that the heat of the tyre was correct it was placed on the wheel and quickly knocked on with sledge hammers. Other men were standing by so that immediately the tyre was fully on, cans of water were applied to shrink the tyre onto the wheel. This had the effect of tightening all the wood joints with the result that one had a very firm wheel".

Beside the stone is an old cobblestone drain or gutter. Can't find out much about this type of gutter on the net - all info welcome.

A local man told me that workmen from Donegal County Council dug up and dumped the big stone and part of the cobblestone gutter during 'improvement' work on the Back Lane. He retrieved the stone from a field up the road and ask the Council workmen to re-instate it, which they did.

Helpfully, the response wasn't like the reference in 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories' by F. Scott Fitzgerald, in the story 'The Four Fists' -

"In a half second the workman had dropped his pail and let fly at him. Unprepared, Samuel took the blow neatly on the jaw and sprawled full length into the cobblestone gutter."

Something on the Methodist Church next - in need of repair, but some good news on that front . . .