Step into the past and enter the local forge, the furnace is red hot with burning coal; the blacksmith is turning the metal in the fire, heating it until it glows, he takes it from the fire to his anvil and skillfully hammers the metal into shape – he is making a new pick for a local miner today. Hear the sound of the clinking metal and the bellows roar, feel the heat and breathe in the smells.

Radstock Museum’s Blacksmith’s Forge Attraction has received a Community Grant from Midsomer Norton Town Council.

The blacksmith was an essential member of the community in days gone by, as he was a skilled artisan, making everything from farming and industrial machinery, tools and household implements, to lengths of chain and nails.

A generous donation of £1,000 will help to complete the transformation of the forge at Somerset Coalfield Life at Radstock Museum. The volunteers, curator and trustees of the museum are delighted to have received this Community Grant from Midsomer Norton Town Council, which will benefit the local economy and community by giving pleasure to local visiting schools, community groups and individual local visitors, many of whom live in Midsomer Norton. The Council regards the award of Community Grants as an important element in its portfolio of measures to improve the well-being (economic, social and environmental) of the community of Midsomer Norton.

The grant will help to pay for a realistic glowing fire in the forge, a projector that will show images of a blacksmith working on the white-washed walls, high quality information boards and improved labeling, and the introduction of sound effects and smells. Work has already begun on the transformation with the help of Richard Hoecker, a blacksmith and swordsmith from the Forge of Avalon; Richard has helped Miranda Litchfield, Museum Development Coordinator, and a group of volunteers to set up the forge exactly as a blacksmith would use it.

The forge is now looking authentic and ready for the exciting audio, visual and sensory additions. For more details on the museum, visit: www.radstockmuseum.co.uk