C O N T E X T 1 3 9 : M A Y 2 0 1 5 11 ironwork’. Although often lacking modern refinements such as symmetry and sweetness of line, the great age of British ironwork, known as the English style, began at the end of the 17th century. A French fashion for the baroque style in gates and railings swept the country houses of Britain following the import of craftsman byWilliam and Mary, and the greater part of our national stock of good ironwork dates from the early years of the 18th century. After the rise of cast iron as an ornamental medium, wrought iron tended often to take a secondary role, owing to its comparative expense, each piece being made by hand, while castings could be repeated infinitely once the patterns had been made.Technically, however, the craftsmen of the age of machines technically bettered their forebears, as indeed they must while making mechanical components. The ornamental blacksmith work of the 19th century displays a perfection of manufacture not seen before or since. After the introduction of mild steel, cheap because of its ability to be mass produced, wrought iron, and the craft skills associated with it, gradually disappeared in accordance with the general decline of craft standards in the 20th century.The last ironworks ceased production in 1974. From 1982 Chris Topp & Company and the Real Wrought Iron Company have made available a limited supply of puddled wrought iron.The subsequent years have brought a steadily increasing demand, as the blacksmiths of Britain have slowly taken up the ancient skills again. To the naked eye there is no visible difference between forged bars of wrought iron and mild steel (its modern day equivalent). However, wrought iron is not distinguished by its looks but by its working properties and its resistance to corrosion. Wrought iron is softer to forge, as it is workable at a higher heat than mild steel, making it more malleable under the hammer. It is wrought iron’s superior weathering properties that are most notable. Like all ferrous metals, wrought iron does corrode in certain circumstances, but evidence of its durability and long life expectancy is common in our towns and countryside.Victorian town house railings have wrought iron 200 years old. Vast ornamental gateways to 18th century great houses have wrought iron 300 years old. Stone cramps on Tudor bridges have wrought iron 500 years old.The simple fact that so much ornamental wrought ironwork survives, often with little or no maintenance, speaks volumes for the material. Problems with the rapid corrosion of mild steel in comparison with wrought iron were well known by the beginning of the 20th century.This prompted Matthew Verity to investigate in the USA. He concluded that the carbon in steel is responsible for its corrodibility, leading to the theory that removing the carbon removes the problem of corrosion. His efforts to produce pure iron resulted, not in a metal that was proven to have any resistance to corrosion, but which was very tough and malleable, and found favour in the emerging markets for mass-produced cold pressings: ARMCO iron. No convincing evidence was ever produced to back up claims of the non-corrodibility of pure iron, and pure-iron manufacturers themselves make no claims to its corrosion resistance.These same manufacturers offer other materials known as ‘weathering steel’ in Britain, or Far left: 19th century work restored using wrought iron New gates in wrought iron for Royal Chelsea Hospital
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