Blacksmithing at Capel Manor College's Brooks Farm Campus

Feel the heat this summer and visit the Urban Crafts Foundation mobile blacksmiths forge at Brooks Farm in Leyton. Join workshops and drop-in sessions to discover the ancient craft of blacksmithing. 

Over four days the Urban Crafts Foundation will host a series of workshops for adults, children and schools groups to learn new skills and create objects out of metal. Using heat from the forge, a type of fire used by blacksmiths that can heat steel up to temperatures as high as 1000 °C to make it soft and malleable, you will learn to safely use hammers, anvils and other tools to manipulate red hot steel into leaves, flowers, snails, scrolls and other decorative shapes. 

Working together with the artists, blacksmiths and historic ironwork specialists at the Urban Crafts Foundation everything made at the forge will become part of a beautiful artwork that will become a permanent feature at Capel Manor College's Brooks Farm Campus for years to come. 

The Urban Crafts Foundation was formed just over two years ago by a group of passionate blacksmiths who want to keep our cultural heritage alive by educating everyone about the skills, history and value of their craft. The Urban Crafts Foundation and their mobile forge work with people of all ages and abilities to learn skills and build confidence through hands-on activities. 

Part of the Make it Happen Fellowship Funding programme.