Traditional Reproduction

Many of projects we do at Newton Forge involve some element of reproduction, whether it be recreating a single decorative detail on a gate as part of a restoration, or making a full set of railings from scratch based on a historic design. A great deal of Britain's ironwork was lost in the second world war when it was melted down for munitions. However, in recent years, councils and estates are trying to put much of it back as it once was, with the historic detail of upmost importance. We are involved in a lot of this type of work and love to connect with the past through these projects. Luckily, much of our beautiful historic ironwork does survive and it is always a joy when we can examine and recreate the work of Blacksmiths of the past, learning from them with every project.

We are typically asked to work from historic photographs or drawings and whilst we can gain a wealth of information, images are often grainy and the detail can be unclear. Here we use our experience and research into similar ironwork of the period to 'fill in the gaps' and make sure the reproduction work we produce is as faithful to the original Smith's work as possible.

 

We can reproduce ironwork in the traditional materials of wrought or cast iron, required for heritage work, but also in other more modern materials. We frequently forge reproductions in steel and stainless steel or cast in ductile iron and aluminium when appropriate to the project.

Flower detail forged to match existing in steel as part of gate restoration.