Wendy Bailey (wendybailey @t lineone.net) of Aylesbury writes: I have been trying to locate the site of the Studham Forge as my mother-in-law - deceased was the grand daughter of one of the Tavener family who ran it. I have a picture of the forge with farriers and some of the home guard sitting in front of the forge and am trying to find somebody who may be interested and know who the local people were, or indeed what became of the site.

While part of Studham later became part of Markyate, Hertfordshire, in 1897, the village has always been in Bedfordshire, and my specialist Hertfordshire library has very little information on it. However the book A Short History of Studham includes an old postcard of the houses overlooking Studham Common (see detail above). The supporting text is not very clear but my interpretation is as follows, starting at the left:

• Swannells Wood (now contains some modern houses)
• The Methodist Chapel - rebuilt in 1960
• A square of buildings which included the blacksmith, the wheelwright and the wood yard
• The Red Lion public house - (?the building back from the road in the middle?)
• The other buildings appear not to be identified.

As the Red Lion public house is still in business a visit may well allow you to identify which of the buildings was the forge - possibly with the help of some of the older residents who frequent the Red Lion!