This is an updated post from September 2020 when Keith Fisher, a north east historian, having researched sword making for many years had then published his research.
He kindly gave the Village Trust permission to post a compressed .pdf version of his book, as a free download.
Since then the book has had many substantial updates and is now paginated with a table of contents and extensive addenda.
There are a limited number of printed copies, purely for the printing cost of £20.00. The book can be acquired direct from Keith’s printer (mail-order if required) by calling Billy at (Photoline.co.uk) 0191 232 5454
[NB: The resolution of the images has been reduced to allow it to be downloaded, while images in the hard copy book are much more detailed.]
Keith explains:
“A request from my friend Yvonne Young (who is a local historian, lecturer and publisher of books on North Eastern heritage) to suggest a topic she could use at men’s clubs and associations, prompted me to give her David Richardson’s famous book on the German swordmakers of Shotley Bridge.
As I attempted to precis the book for her, and studied others like it, I realised this was a huge story that could finally be fully researched given modern information access.
As the story grew it became obvious there were all the ingredients for a TV documentary and I pursued my research with this end in view. None-the-less, the story makes a splendid local history book; so while we wait for TV production to resume, I have converted my research into just such a narrative.
Ultimately, it will end up as a national companion publication to the TV documentary, but until then I am making it freely available to all interested parties, in particular the residents of the Derwent Valley.”
Revised version 12 uploaded 27/1/2023.
NB: The original title of the book was “The Sword in the Hat” – Shotley Bridge and the Bushy Tailed Fox.
Shotley Bridge Village Trust 