The Repair of Wrought and Cast Iron Work - Dublin City Council

IRON THE REPAIR OF WROUGHT AND CAST IRONWORK
Research
For ironwork of any significance or scale, further
historical research should be carried out to discover
more about its history and origin, although this can
equally be carried out for more common ironwork.
Makers’ names and other marks such as supplier
stamps or registration stamps can often be found on
both large and small-scale ironwork on flat surfaces
such as bottom rails, gate slam bars, or column and
post bases. Blacksmiths often stamped ironwork,
particularly on the slam bars of gates. Similarly, cast
iron manufacturers, would cast their name into
ironwork.
Assessment, recording and research should:
> Establish whether the ironwork is cast,
wrought or a mixture of materials
> Establish how it was originally assembled
> Establish the origin and maker of the ironwork
where possible
> Evaluate the significance of the ironwork,
both in terms of the object itself, and its context
and surroundings
> Identify problems of deterioration and their
causes
> Identify any non-original repairs and interventions
> Indicate which areas require intervention and
which can be left as they are
> Highlight aspects that are of particular
importance, interest or vulnerability
> Identify earlier colour schemes where evidence
remains
Registration marks will give the year in which a
particular design was registered
Street directories are a useful reference tool – if the
name of a blacksmith has been identified on the
ironwork it is often possible to trace where, and during
which period, the blacksmith was working. This will
allow the ironwork to be roughly dated. It is also
occasionally possible to find a particular design in a
manufacturer’s catalogue, (although sadly, few Irish
manufacturers’ catalogues survive). Catalogues survive
for J & C McGloughlin & Co. and Kennan & Sons in the
National Archives and the Irish Architectural Archive.
Much cast ironwork found in Ireland was imported
from companies in England and Scotland, and there is
a greater abundance of their catalogues in existence. A
few are kept at the Irish Architectural Archive and can
be consulted there. Original design drawings may also
survive, particularly in the case of bespoke ironwork
for public buildings and churches. Detailing and the
mode of assembly can also give clues as to the date of
ironwork. Old photographs from local libraries or
national archive collections can be invaluable in
identifying the design of missing elements of
ironwork.
Deciding whether repair
work should be done in situ
or off-site
Deciding whether to repair ironwork on- or off-site can
be problematic. Where only minor, localised areas of
corrosion have occurred and minimal amounts of
work are required, the decision to repair ironwork in
situ can be a relatively easy one. However, where
ironwork needs to be cleaned thoroughly to remove
more serious corrosion, it is virtually impossible to
remove all rust without dismantling the ironwork and
removing it off-site. By cleaning ironwork in situ, small
areas of corrosion are likely to remain in joints and
cracks. These will continue to develop and may
damage and stain new paintwork. Repairs are also
more difficult to carry out in situ. Traditional fire
welding, for example, is only possible in a workshop.
Cleaning and repairing ironwork in situ has the added
disadvantage that it is impossible to control the
environment. Where iron has been cleaned back to
bare metal, it needs to be absolutely dry before it is
painted. Rain, dew and even high relative humidity can
cause moisture to soak into the iron. If paint is applied
to damp bare metal, the evaporating moisture will be
trapped beneath the paint when the temperature
rises. This will cause corrosion to begin. Removing
ironwork off-site allows it to be cleaned thoroughly
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