Wrought Iron

The importance of historic ornate ironwork has in many instances been overlooked. Undocumented and poorly executed restoration in the past may have resulted in the loss of important information concerning its manufacture and the paint type and colour. Colour has always played a key role in ironwork design - before the late 1900’s virtually no decorative ironwork was painted black. The recent common use of black paint is as a result of a change in fashion leading people to now assume that black is the correct colour to use when repainting. This fact highlights the need to ensure paint samples are taken to allow analysis of the paint layers and the consequent ability to redecorate ironwork in the colours of the period, if desired, or at the very least to attempt to retrieve this information while it still exists. Today, as with all the objects we treat, the conservation approach adopted is one of minimal intervention, concentrating in the first instance on ensuring that structural integrity is maintained and only repairing or remaking decorative details when their loss impairs the object visually. Also, see the Specifications page for details of how we can help with the production of tender documents and the overseeing of restoration projects.