FOR almost 70 years, the blacksmith’s forge in Shorey Bank Yard, Darwen, was a popular rendezvous for farmers, agricultural workers and carters.

Here, in a long dusty room, among the cascades of sparks, the smell of red hot iron and tang of leather, countryside topics could be discussed, ‘shop’ talked and gossip passed on.

But in 1954 times had changed and while the farmer still brought their horses to the forge, the town horse trade had disappeared, replaced by motor vehicles and the once familiar sight of horse drawn coal or produce carts was very rare.

By 1954, revealed the town’s sole surviving smith Tommy Walsh, there were only six town horses left in Darwen.

At one time, there had been six blacksmiths in the yard, but after the retirement of Harry Oswick in ‘51, who had been there 41 years, only Tommy, who had worked in the trade for 27 years, was the only one left.

He told the Telegraph 61 years ago: “When I first became a smith, almost all the work was shoeing, but there has been a steady decline.

“ I repair farming implements and all manner of forge work can be done on my electrical forge now.

“It usually takes me two and half hours to make shoes for a horse and then shoe the animal.”

Outside the forge stood a pair of stocks, which used to be used to handle unruly horses though Tommy had not used them for many a year.

Inside, it looked as it would have done at the turn of the century – the dark corners were piled with metal pieces, the work benches littered with tools and implements and around the anvil, farm workers still gathered the smith attended to their needs – as practitioners of his craft had done for centuries.

In 1954, 13-year-old Bobby was facing redundancy as the last horse left at Blackburn’s railway station where he had worked for eight years, on shunting duties and delivery runs, In 1914, the station had 180 working horses.

Bobby who cost £1.5s a day to feed is pictured with Bob Walker.