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A son is set to revive a successful blacksmith business which was run by his family for 125 years – 12 years after they closed down.
Michael Amos’ dad Charlton and his uncle Ridley were the fourth generation of their family to run Amos Bros Roman Wall Forge in Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland. They produced the gates for the Poison Garden at Alnwick Garden as well as hand rails on the Town Moor in Newcastle.
When the pair retired in 2011, the business had become a victim of the recession and work had dried up. Michael, 45, did not feel able to take over the historic firm and they ceased trading.
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The brothers auctioned off their goods, with Ridley, then 63, describing the move as “the end of an era”.
Michael, who worked with his dad and uncle for 17 years, has now decided to revive the firm in memory of his dad and uncle. Charlton sadly passed away in 2019 age 73, and Ridley died in 2021, age 73.
Fifth generation blacksmith and welder Michael, who lives in Throckley, Newcastle, will now trade under the name ‘Rusty Renovations’. He said: “I think they would be immensely proud now.
“It’s sort of gone full circle eventually! I know it broke their heart at the time to auction off all their equipment and watch a life’s work disappear. I think they will be smiling down from up there.
“It was a very well-known business. We installed all the hand rails around the Town Moor for the Freemen of the City and we made the poison garden gates for the Duchess of Northumberland at Alnwick Garden.
“My grandfather had it before them and it was based at The Swan pub in Heddon-on-the-Wall. The forge is still in there in the restaurant to this day.
“It’s broken my heart for the last 12 years that’s it’s been closed, so I want to revive the family business. I have always been waiting for the right time.”
Amos Bros Roman Wall Forge began operating in 1886. They employed 24 people at its peak and worked on major projects, as well as minor jobs which kept local farms and businesses ticking over.
Michael said he will start off as a mobile business and will be based between his home in Throckley and Alston in Cumbria, where he has a caravan.
Michael said: “I seem to have found a little gap in the market.
“The larger companies doing what I’m doing have been totally booked up since Covid. The bigger companies haven’t even got time to price the jobs.
“Everyone is over the moon, especially a lot of the old customers. I’ve been around visiting some of the old customers they have really struggled over the years to find anyone which offered the services which we could offer.”
Michael plans to offer traditional blacksmith services as well as upcycling and restoration. He said he decided to offer an upcycling service after carrying out a project for a friend and receiving a positive response.
He said: “A friend of mine came and gave me a pile of scrap and said can you do anything with that. He said it used to be a garden bench. I returned it back to it’s former glory, but a little bit nicer.
“His partner had it all over her Facebook page and it received a lot of interest. I thought hold on there might be something in this.
“I want to get back to doing things that I enjoy. I would like a premises up by Alston and one back in the Heddon area.”
When asked if he was worried about the ongoing cost of living crisis, he said: “My mindset is, if I can do it now and make a success of it under the current conditions, hopefully when the good times come back it should be able to fly.”
To contact Michael at Rusty Renovations email amosmichael247@gmail.com
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