Our blacksmithing courses and experience days are suitable for absolute beginners (adults, and teenagers from the age of 14 upwards*) or for metalworkers seeking to gain a basic understanding or improvement of iron-forging techniques. Classes are limited to 8 students, each with their own forge, anvil, leg vice and necessary tools. We’ve been running courses now for more than 28 years. . .
The emphasis within our courses is on learning the seven basic techniques of hot forging during the making of decorative And/or useful objects; participants can expect to make several such objects to take home at the end of the course. Participants are encouraged to discover the properties of hot iron, with the sympathetic expert guidance of our excellent tutors.
Based just of Jct 9 of the M25 in Leatherhead, Surrey, right next to our world-famous Fire and Iron Gallery in a pleasant semi-rural, historic setting, our blacksmithing courses are run and managed by Tom Quinnell. Our family blacksmithing business has been running continuously since 1932, but our courses first took place back in 1996 when The Quinnell School of Blacksmithing was set up by Richard Quinnell. Richard was a prime mover in the 1970s revival of the craft of artist blacksmithing in the UK, and he was awarded the MBE in 1989 for his contribution. Tom is Richard’s grandson, and he is now the 5th generation to work at the site. After a successful 15-year career with Mercedes-Benz, Tom returned to work at Rowhurst Forge where he grew up and learned the craft from a very young age.
