Last Of The Chain Makers
Chain making by hand was a arduous process and finally came to an end in the mid 1970's in Britain, to be replaced by modern technology.
Chains were made for huge anchors on ships, cranes, machinery and even dog collars.
These pictures were taken near to the end of this period in the mid 1970's and show a small chain works in the Brierley Hill area near Birmingham.
Portrait of a chain maker
Shut that chain - a common expression in the chain makers dictionary
Shut that chain was an expression used by a chain maker to say when he had closed the link on the chain he was making. If he had shut 50 links in a morning it showed how much work he had completed.
British Industry - the last 50 years - end of an era
These pictures show some of the process of chain making. Heating rods of iron in a furnace by a blacksmith then bending these into a link. Top right shows the chains links being welded together.
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