This industrial site comprises a smithy and later butchers made up of a series of buildings extending away from the road and covering several possible burgage plots that are depicted on the Speede map of 1610. From the 4 inch to 1 mile Ordnance Survey map of 1837 there is a long building depicted within the same area with its gable end abutting the road, due to the scale no other detail is shown. On the 1:500 Denbigh Town Plan of 1875 the complex is labelled as a Smithy. Both the Town Plan and the 25 inch 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1875 display the complex more or less in its current form.

The site measures approximately 22.9m x 10.3m and comprises of the former Smithy/cottage, a possible forge/later store, stable/pigsty and two outbuildings and a privy.

The cottage gable abuts Love Lane and is constructed of limestone with dressed cornerstones on all but the rounded southern corner, which has a external vertical joint. The gable end, which now has a garage door, once had a shop window. The limestone walling is made from rough cut stone and varies in size and shape. There are scorch marks on the south-western elevation, with some repointing of the lime mortar. The door and windows share a common oak lintel. The stair to the first floor is constructed of limestone, redbrick risers and slate treads. In recent years the slate roof has been `pushed in? due to safety concerns raised by the local council, a large amount of which still rests on the first floor. Internally the cottage once had a passage that ran passed the chimney breast and into the forge, which is now blocked. The first floor wall is c. 2? narrower than the ground floor and shows a clear vertical joint, at first floor level only, to the forge building. The first floor iron fireplace remains in situ.

The adjoining forge is constructed of limestone with some rough dressed cornerstones. On the south-western elevation there are soot deposits and evidence of high temperatures as several limestone blocks have fractured. A blocked window on the southern elevation is supported by a three brick deep arched head. Internally there is a curving of the west corner with scorch marks higher up the internal gable, which may indicate the location of the forge or bellows. The remains of eight joists are evident in the northern internal elevation, but less appear visible on the internal southern wall. Several `stilts? appear to add support to the first floor, which may have been added with the later extension. The forge was extended at a later date, cutting the now adjoining stable/pigsty. The door to the forge has an oak lintel supported by a relieving arch and the window an oak lintel. Both fronts of the cottage and forge have been lime washed, with some patches remaining.

The stable/pigsty and privy are limestone built, with the stable/pigsty being built on an exposed outcrop of rock.

The outbuildings to the rear of the property were once a single two storied building, possibly a house, and represent the earliest phase of construction - the Speede map of 1610 displays a house around this location with the same orientation. The mortar is brown in colour and of a clay-like constancy, pre-dating the use of lime-based mortars as use in the construction of the sites later buildings. On the south-eastern internal wall evidence for eight joists can be seen by the rectangular voids left in the masonry. The building has been divided into two rooms at a later date, with one end being reduced in depth and the other having had a chimney inserted to provide a stone flue for a boiler or stove. On the north-west corner a single side of an original window can be seen.

Roofing of all structures was made of slate, evidence of this lays on the floor of each building. The flag stones of the yard have been taken for use elsewhere, which have been replaced by concrete.

The earliest building is that of the outbuildings possibly of the 17th century, the cottage dates from the late 18th ? early 19th century, with the stable possibly being incorporated into this date. Evidence suggest that the forge was added at a later phase, possibly in the very early 19th century before being extended sometime before 1870, when the outbuilding was altered and privy constructed.


Ross Cook, RCAHMW, 1st November 2012