The Forge was the site of a village blacksmith from the middle of the 19th century until well into the 20th century.
Around 1850, John Riley, a master wheelwright, set up in business in Holybread Lane at a site later to be known as the Forge. James Everett took over the site in the late 19th century by which time it was the only smithy in Little Baddow. After James’s death in 1911, his sons Albert and Archie, took over the business. Albert was known as “Boss Everett” while Archie was the wheelwright. Accounts from this time, show that the village blacksmith did a variety of work, far more than just shoeing horses and repairing ploughs, e.g. repairing domestic utensils, laying pipes, supplying nuts and bolts.
Sarah, the widow of James and mother of Albert and Archie, was the village music teacher and one-time organist at St Mary’s. She lived with her daughter Emily in a cottage adjoining the forge until her death in 1948 at the age of ninety-nine. Archie died in 1942 but Albert carried on the business until he became too old for the work. Albert and his wife lived in a cottage on North Hill called Gunbies, now Fern Cottage. When his wife died, Albert returned to the Forge to live with his sister. After Albert died in 1962, Emily continued living at the Forge until her death in 1966.
