In 1760 there were three tin plating works in Lydbrook and one was located near the site of the present-day Forge Hammer inn. These tin plating works developed from existing iron working forges and were used for the rolling of thin iron sheets or black plate which were then polished and cut to size and then packaged and distributed. It is likely that the thin iron sheets were transported by boat from a wharf on the River Wye. The tin plate works closed in 1925 but the derelict buildings were a feature of the landscape for many years afterwards.
The Tinmans Arms, a little further up the road, was named after the tin plating works. Perhaps in the late 17th century the workers at the tin plate works could have a pint or two at the pub, but in the 1891 and 1903 licensing books the licence of the Tinmans Arms was strictly for off-sales only. It also had a six-day licence, so it must have closed on Sundays. John Edwin Little was the owner of the beer house and it had an annual rateable value of £12.0s.0d. In 1891 and 1903 the records show that the Tinmans Arms was a free house, with no brewery tie. The premises later became a general store before finally closing c.1980. The property is now in residential use.
Keepers:
1856 T. Morgan
1891,1903 John Edwin Little
