Owning an heirloom tool is truly like owning a piece of English history! Stocktons’s forge was established in 1770 in a blacksmith shop that produced shovels and hammers. In 1890, the company’s owner received a patent for a design that improved the bond between shovel and handle, an idea which revolutionized the design of digging tools forever. Since then, Stockton Heath’s tools have been considered so solid that they have been used not only to cultivate the gardens of many English homes, but also to excavate the Panama Canal. Now a seventh-generation family business, Stockton’s standards of the highest quality and durability are evident in every spade, fork and edger.