Model of an Anchor Forge circa 1760
Display Showing Workers in the Smithery
Smithery
The No. 1 Smithery at Chatham dates to 1808, and later, a No. 2 building was built to its front. Although mostly made of wood, warships contained numerous metal parts, including iron chains, mast joiners, anchors, and with the increasing scarcity of wood, even knees, the floor supports connected to the hull. Copper sheathing, developed in time for use in the American Revolution, was another extremely useful metal addition to warships which helped preserve the wood and prevented fouling of the hull. Built to deal with this sort of increased use of metal in warships, the Smithery contained 12 large furnaces, each with its own hand bellows. Later additions included a foundry, an engine house, and a boiler house. With construction of HMS Achilles, a sister ship of Warrior, ships were made mostly with iron.
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Rear of the Smithery
The Smithery is on left center of the photo, and the Galvanizing Shop is down the road a bit. The Joiners' Shop is on the far left. This was where joiners made pegs to join wood. Dry pegs would expand with moisture to form tight fit.
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