Forges royales de la Chaussade, Royal smithy in Guérigny, France.

The Forges royales de la Chaussade in Guérigny are a former ironworks whose grounds held blast furnaces, housing for the manager and workers, a barn, a stable and an ore-washing basin. In the photograph, a large rusted spoked metal wheel stands upright against a stone and stucco building with a tall grey slate roof, a brick chimney with a rounded cap and a small domed cupola with a spire; a blue crisscross metal fence runs across the foreground.

The forges began in the 17th century and later became a center for anchor production under Pierre Babaud de La Chaussade serving the Royal Navy. The facility played a significant role in French naval development through its specialized metal manufacturing.

The site is named after Pierre Babaud de La Chaussade, its 18th-century owner, and is also called the forges de Guérigny. Its output went to the French Navy: anchors were made here from at least the 17th century, and in 1770 the furnaces cast 250 tonnes of iron.

The site lies in Guérigny, in the Nièvre department, and is protected as a monument historique: classified in 1991, with inscriptions in 1982 and 1991. The forges closed definitively in 1971, so the buildings are seen from outside along the public streets; the large spoked metal wheel fixed to the stone and stucco building, with its slate roof, brick chimney and small domed cupola, is the landmark to look for.

In 1770 the blast furnaces of the forges produced 250 tonnes of cast iron, fed by ore from Villatte and wood from Rochefort, Charrault, Donzy and Les Alliots. The scale of output led the owners to build housing for the manager and workers, plus a barn, a stable and an ore-washing basin.