According to census and other data sources there were 203,000 people in the UK in 1871 whose stated profession was blacksmith.
Today, in 2024, that number has declined to 1,095.
It’s very easy with hindsight to appreciate why this happened, but it wasn’t at the time.
You see, whilst the motor car can be identified as the primary cause of the decline in demand for blacksmiths, this method of transport didn’t replace the horse overnight.
Indeed, I bet not one blacksmith in 1896 thought, when Carl Benz applied for a patent for a “vehicle powered by a gas engine”, “that’s it, the games up, time to train for a new job.”
And yet, many would have been wise to have done so sooner than later, because in just 30 years, by 1901, the number of blacksmiths had halved to 102,000, and worse was to come.
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