Gestingthorpe
About
History of The Forge
*The personal estate was insufficient to provide the sum of £100, and it being advantageous to the estate that the property should not be sold, a mortgage was applied for. At this time, Richard (Dick) Nice (Walter's son) was working at the forge, age 19.
**The traditional iron work sides takes over, including weather vanes, and gates. One of his later jobs was the refurbishment of the railing around Gestingthorpe Hall, as well as the ironwork for the village sign.
To help explain the inheritance of the forge, shown below is a condensed snippet of the Nice family tree, with owners of the Forge outlined in black.
Other pictures of the Forge
Taken in the 1920's, this image of the outside of the Forge includes Walter Nice as a young boy (front left) and his father, Dick Nice in the doorway (back left).
Local artist Steven Binks (website here) spent some time with Frank at the Forge, and shown below left is a painting by Steven of Frank working in the forge.
Also shown below right is the only video which we know to exist of Frank working in the forge, taken shortly before his passing in March, 2003.
Testament to the long standing significance of the blacksmith in the village, not only did Frank Nice create the frame for the village sign, but the village blacksmith is represented by an anvil on the sign itself.
Richard Nice
I worked in the forge with my father and uncle when I was a child, and have taken it on as a hobby most of my adult life. Now retired from my full time career at Delphi, Sudbury, I am making my hobby a business and taking on more work in the forge.
