Into The Forge

Written for MLMM Monday Wordle;
the prompt words are shown below.
Here’s where the prompts took me.

sandy ~ numerous ~ cane ~ idea ~ long ~ looking
little ~ keep ~ supper ~ property ~ danger ~ gear

The year was 1843, and Constance Briggs had not survived numerous London winters by being foolish.

She adjusted her gear …. the heavy apron, the iron tongs, the thick leather gloves …. and peered into the forge. At forty-one, she was the only female blacksmith in Southwark and as good as any man …. something her petty little neighbors loved to gossip about.

An idea came to her the night before over supper: the railway men needed a new coupling design …. something long and flexible, yet strong. She’d been looking at the problem sideways, which was always a danger, but tonight she was seeing clearly.

She reached for her cane …. her left knee had never forgiven that horse …. and crossed the sandy floor of the workshop to the drafting table.

The property deed, with her late husband’s name still on it, was tacked to the corner; seeing his name gave her strength and helped keep her grounded.

Outside, London rattled and roared its great ambitions into the smoky sky.

But first, the coupling. Constance picked up her pencil and drew the first line.

NAR©2026
#MLMM
#Wordle

Nancy’s Notes: I created the character of Constance Briggs, but her story is based on facts. In the 1840s, blacksmithing in England was an intensely male-dominated trade. Women were generally barred from formal apprenticeships. While there were very few skilled female blacksmiths crafting horseshoes and heavy ironwork, women in the 1840s were actually heavily involved in specialized metalwork. In industrial areas like the Black Country in Staffordshire, female nail- makers, chain-makers, and pin-makers were common. The majority of women documented as blacksmiths in early Victorian England were widows who inherited and ran their deceased husband’s forges.

This is “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” by the Eurythmics, feat. Aretha Franklin