Britain's artist blacksmiths bring their AGM to Wolverton from Friday and will forge a permanent railing panel for the museum. Children's slots are sold out.

Milton Keynes Museum in Wolverton is hosting the annual conference of the British Artist Blacksmiths Association from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 August, and the public can watch the forging.

Blacksmiths from across the country will spend the three days making a decorative railing panel for the museum. It was designed by Katie Ventress and Kelly Burton, and a team of master smiths is overseeing the work. The panel stays at the museum afterwards, so what visitors see being made this weekend becomes part of the site permanently.

The association describes the event as its 2026 AGM and conference. It has been running since 1978 and lists 584 UK members and 75 international members.

What is happening on each day

The published programme runs as follows:

  • Friday 21 August: registration from 8am, team forging begins, including the Saxon Smiths project. Evening hog roast with a talk by artist blacksmith David Hyde.
  • Saturday 22 August: the association’s AGM from 9am to 10.30am, then forging and demonstrations all day. Evening talks from Tim Puddephatt, Jen Hawley and Sam Sherborne.
  • Sunday 23 August: final forging sessions to finish the panel, children’s forging until lunchtime, then an afternoon auction of donated items.

Three further displays run alongside the forge:

  • the Saxon Smiths project by Joe Tyler and Tom Tribe, which aims to reconstruct more than 600 Anglo-Saxon ironwork items over the next couple of years
  • the museum’s own collection of historic metalwork
  • a conservation display from the National Heritage Ironwork Group

The children’s sessions have sold out

The museum advertised supervised forging for children aged 7 to 15, at £12, with each child making something to take home. Those slots are booked through The Quinnell School of Blacksmithing, and its booking page currently shows all three days sold out.

One detail is worth checking if you have a booking: the museum’s event page bills the slots as one hour, while the booking page lists them as 45 minutes.

Going, and what it costs

Milton Keynes Museum is at McConnell Drive, off H2 Millers Way, Wolverton, MK12 5EL, with free parking on site. Nearest station is Wolverton, about a 15 minute uphill walk. The number 6 bus between Wolverton and Bletchley stops at Stacey Bushes Local Centre, roughly 10 minutes away on the redway. If you are coming down from London for the day, our Milton Keynes train times page has the fares and the fastest services, and the roadworks and travel page has anything currently closed.

There is no separate charge for the blacksmithing. Normal museum admission applies:

Ticket Price
Adult £17.50
Child, 5 to 16 £12.00
Concession, over 65s, students and disabled visitors £13.50
Family, 2 adults and up to 4 children £45.00
Under 5s Free

A ticket doubles as a pass for free return visits for a year, which is the single best thing to know before you pay at the gate.

Check the opening day before you travel on Friday. The museum’s plan your visit page gives opening hours as Wednesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 4.30pm, with last entry at 3.30pm. The footer of the same website still carries an older line saying the museum opens on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays only. The event runs Friday to Sunday, so the Wednesday to Sunday hours are the ones that fit, but it is worth a phone call on 01908 316222 if you are planning the Friday.

What it means for you

This is a working craft event rather than a static exhibition. The appeal is in the noise and the heat: several smiths at the forge at once, hammer on anvil. The panel takes shape over three days instead of being wheeled out finished.

If the children’s forging was the draw and you have missed it, the museum’s summer holiday family programme runs to 2 September. Its 1940s Weekend follows on 5 and 6 September. Our guide to things to do in Milton Keynes has the rest of the year’s fixtures.

Milton Keynes Museum is an independent registered charity, number 803675. It was founded in 1973 by residents collecting from the farms and factories being cleared for the new city. It sits in the Victorian farmstead at Stacey Hill.

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