The Blacksmith, Bob Brown

It is fitting that a forge occupies one of the stable courtyard workshops - in fact it is the building with the horse feeding troughs still intact. Although Bob Brown, the blacksmith, is not a Farrier he displays the horse shoes he has made. Bob began his working life, as so many in Derbyshire did – working for the mines. He served an apprentiship and is grateful to the skilled craftsman who taught him his trade.

Bob is happy in his work and makes beautiful weather vanes depicting the animals of our rural countryside. Many homes, great and small, have a Bob Brown creation on their chimney. However his most sought after work are traditional and painstakingly accurate commissions for other craftsmen involved in the refurbishment of listed buildings and older properties, whose owners have an expert eye for detail.

The casual visitor to Caudwell’s Mill Craft Centre will find designs using the Derbyshire Ram’s head in companion sets and individual pieces, both aesthetic and practical. If you need a 'Suffolk latch', a 'T hinge' or a lantern holder you will find them created in the furnace at the forge.

Contact him on 01629 732220