Preston’s Cottages: The Old Forge, Church Lane
North Hertfordshire Urban District Council (NHUDC) notes that the house,The Old Forge, was built in
the early eighteenth century. This is confirmed by the Temple Dinsley Manorial Records. The first
mention of this property was probably in 1713 when Leonard King, a wheelwright living in Preston,
Ippollitts, was recorded as having been the tenant of ‘a certain property and certain lands at Preston’.
Their manorial rent was two shillings.
NHUDC also states that shortly after it was built, the property had some additions: ‘A south-west wing
and formerly separate east wing (were added) a few years later’
Leonard King was married to Elizabeth and had previously also owned The Red Lion and associated
fields which he sold to Edward Swain. Leonard also sold a cottage on the north side of Church Lane
(rent 4d) (See Link: Gentle’s Cottage) which he bought from Richard Dearmer in 1710. The cottage
had earlier been owned by John Clifford.
However, Leonard KIng had apparently died before 1713 after making a provision for his son, William
King (a victualler at Walkern, Herts), to inherit The Old Forge (rent 2/-) and the cottage on the north
side of Church Lane (rent 4d) following the death of his wife. Thus, included in the Temple Dinsley
Survey of Rents in 1714 were the holdings of ‘William King, previously Leonard King’ for which a
combined rent of 2s 4d was payable.
Eventually, in 1754, William King inherited the two properties and immediately sold them to John
Swain, a blacksmith from Preston, Ippollitts. The transaction was noted by the Manorial Court of
12 June 1754 when it was recorded that Leonard King had died ‘long before’. Thus, these two
holdings were among the four assigned to John Swain in the Temple Dinsley Rental Survey of 1761.
(See link: J Swain)
When John Swain died in 1794, his son William Swain snr inherited The Old Forge and its nearby
fields. Hence, the buildings and land shown on the map above in around 1811 are noted as belonging
to William in the corresponding Award.
Following William Swain’s death in 1834, The Old Forge and its associated fields were sold in 1836.
The sale was described thus (note the distinction between the house and the forge): ‘Brick built
dwelling house, old fashioned blacksmith’s shop, six acres of rich old sward, two barns, stable, cow
house etc sold by proprietor at the White Swan Inn, Stevenage. The house comprises a parlour,
kitchen, wash-house, brew and bake-house, dairy, cellar and four roomy chambers (conveniently
fitted up with closets), good garden, substantially built blacksmith’s shop now in the occupation of
William Swain (1786 - 1858). The six acres are divided into three enclosures ornamented with fine
thriving trees and an orchard planted with choice fruit trees. There is an enclosed farm yard, two
barns with oak plank floors, stable, cow house, wood shed, piggery etc in excellent repair and well
supplied with water. (Auction held on 15 March 1836)
Although not mentioned in the Manorial Records, the new owner was Richard Jepps, a farmer living
at St Pauls Walden - he was paying rates on the property in 1839. However, the house and
blacksmith’s shop were occupied by William Swain in 1841 (two years later he was declared
bankrupt) and John Swain (1818 - 1896) was the tenant in 1851. The house was uninhabited in 1861,
though John Swain continued to use the blacksmith’s shop.
Richard Jepps died intestate on 23 March 1878 and his estate was inherited by his brother, Frederick.
He immediately sold the blacksmith’s shop together with a dwelling house (occupied now by Mr F.
Brown), outbuildings and several enclosures of old pasture (five acres and 34 poles, farmed by W.
Jeeves) by auction at the Sun Hotel, Hitchin on 1 July 1879. The complete lot was bought by Thomas
Harwood Darton for £740 (although he had sold the Temple Dinsley estate in 1873).
By 1881, the house had been divided into two dwellings of four rooms each. The bake-house and
baker’s home was on the west side.
In 1881, the Hitchin baker and confectioner, Frank Warren and his wife Elizabeth Thomas were living
in and trading from one house and their immediate neighbours were the gardener Joseph Peters and
his wife Sarah.. Then, on 15 January 1884, Thomas Darton included the property (together with the
tumbledown cottages along Back Lane) in a mortgage of £900 raised on Thomas Perkins of Hitchin.
At this time, the blacksmith’s shop was occupied by James Fordham.
Shortly afterwards, Thomas H Darton died and on 15 February 1886, his widow, Emily Darton, repaid
the mortgage.
By 1886, the baker, Thomas Ashton had succeeded Frank Grey as Preston’s baker and was living
next door to Joseph Peters and his family. (Link: Ashton)
Moving into the twentieth century, the blacksmith’s shop had been demolished and in its place stood
the Preston Club Reading Room (Link: Benefit Clubs). Also, by 1911, Joseph Peters had been
succeeded in the cottage to the east by his son Thomas Peters (a horse keeper) and his family.
In September 1908, Emily Darton sold the houses, the Club Reading Room, and their adjacent fields
to Geoffrey I E Pryor for £900. The Indenture commented that the three closes had once been known
as Clifford’s Close.
In 1910, The Inland Revenue Survey provided the following snap-shot of The Old Forge:
The house and forge with associated land circa 1811
Left: The house and forge circa 1811. Right: The two cottages and Reading Room in 1910
Cottage One (shaded grey) was occupied by Thomas Peters. It was of brick and tile construction and
had a kitchen and two bedrooms. It was in poor repair.
Cottage Two (shaded pink) was the home of Thomas Ashton. It too was of brick and tile and
contained a bake-house, living room and kitchen. It was in poor repair. Attached to the building was a
wood and thatched stable and a barn.
Thomas Ashton outside his cottage
In January 1913, Geoffrey Pryor raised a mortgage of £300 on his property from George Edward
Thake, a stationer from Hitchin - which he repaid on 20 October 1913. He then sold the cottages to
Herbert G Fenwick.
Thomas Peters died in 1940 and Tom Ashton in 1934
Occupants of The Old Forge after 1945
1950 - Hugh and Sybil Whitmore - The Old Forge included a garage.
1971 - James F and Audrey A Adams.
1981 - Michael J and Susan Kellard.
1986 - Gordon M B and Mary L Nixon.
1996 - David B Peterson and Margaret R Fingerhut
2005 - Elizabeth Sears.
The Old Forge in 2011