Finch Foundry – Heritage Open Days

Finch Foundry was a mainstay of Dartmoor’s industrial landscape for 150 years, producing up to 400 tools per day for local industry. The waterwheels and machinery are still mostly operational today. Tours of the site on the hour from 1100-1500.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Finch Foundry produced edge tools for agriculture, mining and the china clay industry, and employed as many as 25 workers across the site. This included blacksmiths, carpenters, wheelwrights, farriers and general workers. Later in its existence the company diversified and became coal merchants, the local hardware shop, scrap metal merchants and even funeral directors.

Today visitors can take in the sights, sounds and smells of the last water-powered forge in England first-hand. In its heyday, Finch Foundry produced up to a phenomenal 400 edge tools per day. The noise, heat, smoke and dust must have been indescribable, but we’ll try our best to stoke your imagination. As well as the waterwheels, working forge, grinding house, carpenters’ workshop and gallery museum, there is also a pretty cottage garden and a Quaker burying ground to visit.

Access to the forge is by guided tour only, these are held hourly from 1100 to 1500. An exhibition of local art inspired by Finch Foundry will be available to see on this day.

Pre-booking is preferred for this event as tours run at 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00 and allow a maximum of 15 people per tour.

Please see the Heritage Open Days website link below or the Finch Foundry National Trust website link for further details and booking information.