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These closed-mouth bolt tongs were used to hold normal-sized bolts. They were used at the blacksmith's shop in Lower Beeding, West Sussex.

1 Pair of tongs: metal (wrought iron)

MERL miscellaneous note - 'used until the 1920s', MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘… // DATE ACQUIRED: // GROUP: // NEGATIVE: // PERIOD: // PLACE OF ORIGIN: // NUMBER: // DESCRIPTION: …‘ Forging, the art of the blacksmith, fundamentally involves the shaping of metals while they are at a red or white heat. In this state they are malleable and plastic and can be easily changed to the required shape. In the forging practices, tongs are indispensable and the blacksmith possesses a large variety for use in the smithy. More often than not the blacksmith makes his own tongs, making them to his own design according to his needs. For this purpose he uses mild steel which has a low carbon content of between 0.15 and 0.25 percent. Blacksmiths' tongs vary in size from 16 inches upwards. //

1930