Our Team
Max Anderson - Blacksmith/Tutor
Max trained at Hereford College of Arts, and was awarded a BA (Hons) in Artist Blacksmithing.
After graduating from Hereford, Max embarked on a journeymanship, initially working for Ambrose Burne and then moving to Canada for 6 years to work for Mark Pearce at Mystic Forge Ironworks.
Now back in the UK, Max has been establishing his own business in Shropshire, mainly focusing on architectural work, but also creating interesting furniture and interior/exterior sculpture.
“I have always loved design and working with my hands. Blacksmithing allows me to explore and combine the two. I love teaching - it allows me to share the knowledge I have acquired and investigate my own creative practice and approach to the work.”
Max comes down from Hereford to teach on all of our group courses. He is a highly skilled blacksmith, who has a friendly, relaxed and very informative teaching style. He makes things look deceptively easy!
Giles Clarke - Blacksmith/Tutor
Giles is an artist-blacksmith specialising in hot forged ironwork. He uses his tacit knowledge of materials and the fundamental processes within forging to experiment with design. Giles specialises in creating contemporary furniture, sculptures and metalwork for both internal and external settings.
Before becoming a qualified blacksmith Giles worked with a variety of clients, in the building and landscape gardening sector. However; he decided his passion for creating, designing and making had to go further. This led him to the artist blacksmithing degree course at Hereford College of Arts, and it is here that he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in Artist Blacksmithing.
Giles has since gone on to set up his own forge in the heart of Sussex alongside teaching the craft at a range of levels from HE to experience days. Giles also works part time with the team at Fire & Iron on commissioned projects and items on sale in the gallery, as well as teaching on a large number of our blacksmithing courses and experiences with us here at the Quinnell School of Blacksmithing.
Giles is a great teacher and is excellent at simply explaining how to do things, whilst ensuring that you actually do it yourself. He is encouraging, friendly and thoroughly enjoys teaching.
Tom Quinnell - General Manager & Blacksmith/Tutor
Tom grew up at Rowhurst Forge and learned the craft of blacksmithing from a very young age.
Following on from a successful 15-year career with Mercedes-Benz, Tom retuned to join the family business, Fire & Iron in 2019 as a blacksmith & General manager - he is the 4th generation to work at Rowhurst Forge.
In 2021 Tom also took on the running of Richard Quinnell Limited from his grandfather, alongside his mother Lucy, and in Spring 2022 he took over the running of The Quinnell School of Blacksmithing.
Tom works to commission on all of Fire & Iron’s creative and practical blacksmithing projects and is also currently exhibiting a wide selection of items at Fire & Iron Gallery.
Adam Boydell - Blacksmith/Tutor
Adam Boydell trained at Hereford College of Arts before working with leading blacksmith Brian Russell (Brian worked with Fire and Iron/Rowhurst Forge/Richard Quinnell Limited to produce the Globe Theatre Gates).
Adam is now Fire and Iron’s resident master blacksmith. Adam is married to ironwork designer Lucy Quinnell, and together they run Fire and Iron with Tom Quinnell.
Adam and Lucy have completed numerous commissions, including ITV’s Avenue of the Stars, the Dorking Cockerel with Peter Parkinson, ironwork in Leatherhead Town Centre, a panel for the International Pillar of Friendship in Liverpool, the archway based on the life of Grant Allen in Dorking, the Amesbury Archer, the ‘2012’ celebratory wall panel on the Leatherhead Institute (cycle race, Queen’s Jubilee and 120th birthday of the Institute – installed March 2013) and the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
Richard Quinnell MBE - ‘The Fountain of Knowledge’
Dick Quinnell ran the family architectural metalworking and blacksmithing firm Richard Quinnell Ltd at Rowhurst Forge for over 50 years from the early 1960s, designing, surveying, supervising and installing countless important pieces of metalwork all over the world, including many large public art commissions.
In 1975 he was principal guest demonstrator and lecturer at an early Artist Blacksmiths Association of North America (ABANA) conference, and in 1976 returned with his wife Jinny Quinnell to attend the inspirational ABANA conference and exhibition, Iron Solid Wrought/USA, at Carbondale, IL, often called the ‘Woodstock of Blacksmithing’. As a direct result of this experience, Jinny and Dick set up the event in 1978 at Rowhurst Forge, that proved to be the foundation meeting of the British Artist Blacksmiths Association, ‘BABA’. In the same year Dick was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship, and visited 25 blacksmithing masters in their workshops on a 3000 mile tour through 5 European countries. Together Jinny and Dick also founded Fire and Iron Gallery in 1982.
Sadly, Jinny died of cancer in 1988.
In 1989 Dick was awarded the MBE for services to blacksmithing, in 1993 Dick married Pauline, and in 1996 they founded the Quinnell School of Blacksmithing. Dick has since retired from running the Quinnell School of Blacksmithing, but is still thoroughly involved and often present on course days.
Lucy Quinnell - Managing Director
Lucy Quinnell has worked full-time for over three decades in the field of blacksmithing, after studying at Epsom School of Art & Design and Exeter University.
She is an award-winning artist, designer, writer, lecturer, consultant and curator, and from 2012-2020 she was the Editor of 'Artist Blacksmith' magazine for the British Artist Blacksmiths Association.
Lucy owns and runs Fire & Iron Gallery & Richard Quinnell Limited/The Quinnell School of Blacksmithing. She has curated hundreds of special metalwork exhibitions; has completed numerous major public and private art commissions of her own; and has acted as an agent and project manager for commissioned artworks by others.
She has a special interest in surface finish of metals, and also in accessibility and inclusivity.