Turnpike Forge

Turnpike Forge on the Abingdon Road in Clifton Hampden has operated as a working smithy since around 1748, when it served travellers at a nearby toll gate with horse-shoeing and roadside repairs. The forge has been part of the Grace family's Oxfordshire metalworking business since Arthur Grace's original smithy in Steventon, and was brought into the family's A W Grace & Sons Group in 2008, making it a fourth-generation operation. Blacksmith Matt has worked the forge since the age of 16, with more than 35 years at the anvil; Lisa Curley, with a decade at the business, manages day-to-day operations. The smithy hand-forges candlesticks, fire companions and grates, garden gates and railings, mirrors, picture frames and door hardware to bespoke commission, using traditional techniques rather than machine production. The workshop is open to visitors and trade callers Monday to Friday, 8am to 3pm, and closed at weekends. It stands as one of the longest continuously worked forges in the Thames Valley.