Shropshire blacksmith Rowan takes on a new role with TV show Mend It For Money

Blacksmith Rowan Taylor, from Ellesmere, is one of the expert restorers in the Channel 4 show Mend It For Money, which combines restoration with a competitive twist, each expert going head-to-head, pitching their plans to bring prized items back to life for the owners.

The 36-year-old travelled to the show's specially created headquarters in Glasgow for the filming and said his background in film and the media helped him prepare.

Rowan studied the subject at university before decided to go down the completely different career route of becoming a blacksmith.

"It had always been an interest so I went to study at the National School of Blacksmithing in Hereford."

With a particular interest in historical ironwork, Rowan is based at a forge he leases at the Canals and Rivers Trust yard in Ellesmere.

"There is such a wealth of historical ironwork on our canals," he said.

He is also fascinated in the very earliest of ironwork, making reproduction archaeological items.

"Some of the methods we use in blacksmithing have changed little from the bronze age," he said.

Such is his skills in archaeological blacksmithing, his work is even used in the recently released film, The Dig, which charts the events of the 1939 excavation of the Sutton Hoo burial site in Suffolk.

The restoration he did for the Mend It For Money programme was more up to day, giving an iron coat stand a new lease of life.

The episode not only looked at Rowan's and the other restorations in step-by-step detail but also some of the history behind the objects, estimating how much profit the item will make when sold and agreeing a profit share deal with the owner.

Mend It For Money is available on Channel Four's catch up hub.

Anyone interested in Rowan's work can follow his YouTube channel, Rowan Taylor, or contact him via his website saxonforge.co.uk