Village Pump - Church Road - St Tudy, Cornwall
Posted by: SMacB
N 50° 33.286 W 004° 43.855
30U E 377386 N 5601745
Village pump outside the old forge on Church Road, St Tudy.
Waymark Code: WMZGPT
Location: South West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/10/2018
Views: 0
Village pump outside the old forge on Church Road, St Tudy. The old pump and the binding were stone once used by the blacksmith to fit an iron rim to wooden wheels.
There is a good reminiscence in 'The Binding Stone', a compilation of memories of St Tudy made for the millennium - page 22 (
visit link)
A nearby plaque tells us:
The binding stone, which resembles a mill stone, was used by the blacksmith to fit an iron tyre or 'bond’ to wooden wheels.
The hub of the wheel was centred on the binding stone and the bond which had been heated in the forge was dropped onto the wheel. It was then cooled with water from the pump causing it to shrink to a tight fit. Thus binding the wooden wheel together.
This blacksmith's shop and forge has been an important central feature of village life for centuries. Only recently an ox shoe was found in the rafters indicating great age.
In the period of horse drawn carts the blacksmith not only kept the horses well shod but repaired cart wheels, and made a variety of farm implements.