WROUGHT IRON has been used in building from the earliest days of civilisation, wrought iron door furniture being commonplace in Roman times. The structural use or iron gates from the Middle Ages, when bars of wrought iron would be used occasionally to tie masonry arches and domes. This use of wrought iron in tension guaranteed its use throughout the ascendancy of cast iron in the canal and railway ages, as cast iron is strong only in compression. The ill fated first Tay Bridge was of cast iron beams tied with wrought iron. The demand for higher dynamic loads in bridges and warehouse buildings, and the ever greater spans of train sheds towards the end of the nineteenth century, led the designers of buildings to acquire the technology developed to build ships of iron, and create beams of riveted wrought iron rolled sections. By the turn of the century this had led to buildings completely framed in wrought iron, and later steel, girder sections, and cast iron was once again relegated to an ornamental role. Our main concern with wrought iron, however, will be in its application to gates and railings, frequently given an ornamental treatment by the blacksmith. There are wrought iron railings in Westminster Abbey from the thirteenth century, which, in essence display all the characteristics which we have come to know as 'wrought ironwork', although lacking modern refinements such as symmetry and sweetness of line, but the great age of British ironwork, known as the 'English' style began at the end of the seventeenth century. A French fashion for the Baroque style in gates and railings, swept the country houses of Britain, following the import of craftsman by William and Mary, and the greater part of our national stock of good ironwork dates from the early years of the eighteenth 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 ad infinitum, once the patterns were made. Technically, however, the craftsmen of the age of machines excelled their forebears, as indeed they must while making mechanical components, so that the ornamental blacksmith work of the nineteenth century displays a perfection of manufacture not seen before nor 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 twentieth century, until the last ironworks ceased production in 1974. From 1982 Chris Topp & Co. and later The Real Wrought Iron Company, have made available a limited supply of puddled wrought iron, derived from scrap metal. The subsequent years have brought a steadily increasing demand, as the blacksmiths of Britain have slowly taken up again the ancient skills.

RECOGNISING WROUGHT IRON

Wrought iron is unlike cast, in that it is not brittle, and seldom breaks. For this reason, wrought ironwork is frequently far more delicate, although years of paint can obscure this. Cast iron is most frequently identified by its repetitive nature, and forms which could be carved in a wooden pattern, but not made by hammer and anvil. Telling wrought iron from mild steel is often more difficult, as both will bend, and not break. Frequently, however, work in mild steel is readily identified by the lower standards of workmanship often used. Look for evidence of electric welding. Also mild steel is often given away by more active corrosion, rust tends to run out of the joints in a steel gate, and stain the paintwork, where this is seldom the case with wrought iron. Wrought iron may also be dated, approximately by its texture. Until the very end of the eighteenth century, sections of wrought iron were derived by forging of billets by hand or water power, this resulted in a more or less uneven surface texture, and very sharp corners. A foreshortened view of a bar displays well the irregularities of the surface. Rolled bars, on the other hand, produced from the beginning of the nineteenth century, are perfectly smooth, and the corners can display a small radius. Nineteenth century wrought iron is known as 'puddled iron'.
 
CAST IRON

Pure, unadulterated iron is only moderately hard, as anyone who has bent a nail with a hammer can attest. When it becomes red hot, say at about 700 degrees Celsius, it can be easily bent and formed into whatever shape the artisan wishes -- straps, hinges, horseshoes. For this reason we speak of "wrought iron," (wrought, from wreak, to bend or twist). Unfortunately, it is also only moderately tough; it can easily be bent when being used. It also loses any sharp edge very quickly under the pressure of work or abrasion.
Cast iron, on the other hand, is enormously strong. Cast iron takes its name from the fact that it emerges from the smelter in liquid form and can be cast into moulds rather like bronze or silver. Unfortunately, it is rather brittle, and worse, it can't be bent or shaped in any way once it has solidified.