The Forge in Farthingstown

Detached gable-fronted single-bay single-storey former forge/smithy, built c.1830. Now out of use. Pitched natural slate roof with clay ridge tiles. Squared rubble stone walls having a square-headed carriage arch to the main elevation (east) with timber sheeted double doors. Circular carved stone above carriage arch having simple brick surround. Road-fronted, on a small lane to the south of the former main Dublin to Galway road and to the southwest of Rochfortbridge.

A modest early-to-mid nineteenth-century forge, which is an interesting addition to the social history and to the built heritage of the Rochfortbridge area. This functional building is robustly built in local limestone and is in good structural order despite being out of use for a considerable period. The decorated stone above the carriage arch is an unusual feature that adds interest to this simple structure. This small-scale building is of a type once very common in rural Ireland but now becoming increasingly rare today, making this an important survival. It represents an interesting historical reminder of traditional rural industry and craft skills. This former forge is prominently sited just to the south of the former main Dublin to Galway road and adds incident to its rural location to the southwest of Rochfortbridge.