Wharram Percy/Blacksmith

Hello. I'm Walter the Smith. I'm a Freeman and I rent the Smithy from the Lord for 10 shillings a year. I spend most of my time repairing plough shares, harrows, and the like for the villagers. If they can't pay me in money I take some flour or eggs or ham as payment. Like Ken the baker and the miller I am much better off than most of the villagers.

I moved to Wharram Percy because the Lord trains many excellent Knights. I get lots of interesting and satisfying work making and repairing weapons here. I trained with an expert sword maker in York who has made weapons for King Richard. I always make sure that I don't let the villagers down when they need help as we must help each other to survive.

The Iron Works at Beverley

About 5 times a year I hire the Ox cart from Paul the Carter and go to Beverley about 15 miles away to collect iron ingots (blocks).

The iron ore is dug out of a pit nearby and put into the furnace mixed with burning charcoal. The molten iron runs into moulds where it solidifies.

The charcoal is made in the nearby wood by slowly burning wood under huge earth mounds. The charcoal burners are running out of wood which will be a big problem.

Interactive Exercises

Blacksmiths & Whitesmiths

A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal. This means the iron is heated in a furnace. Then the smith is able to hammer, bend, and cut it. Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, grilles, tools, armour and weapons.

The blacksmith had a general knowledge of how to make and repair many things, from the most complex of weapons like swords to simple things like nails or lengths of chain.

A tinsmith, sometimes known as a whitesmith, is a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. Unlike blacksmiths (who work mostly with hot metals), tinsmiths do the majority of their work on cold metal (although they might use a hearth to heat and help shape their raw materials). Whitesmiths fabricate items such as tin, water pitchers, forks, spoons, and candle holders and it was a common occupation in pre-industrial times.