MORE DECORATIVE IRONWORK (II)
D. STEPHENSON, B.Sc., F.P.S.
In the previous paper with this title I some door knockers and some
boot scrapers, frequently seen in Kent, were described and illustrated.
More has been learned of these rapidly vanishing forms of
decorative ironwork and of the ironfoundries where they were
probably made. It is proposed to give brief notes of the companies
engaged in the trade, to describe their catalogues, where these are
available, and to discuss in detail some of the designs. The opportunity
will be taken to bring some of the other sections up to date,
and to refer to the use of cast iron in the design of simple memorials
in a village churchyard.
THE IRONFOUNDRIES
Reference was made to three early foundry companies, namely,
the Carron Company, the Coalbrookdale Company and the Falkirk
Ironworks, when discussing 'Balcony Railings in Kent'. 2
In the previous paper mention was made of the firm of A.C.
Ballantine and Sons Ltd., of New Grange Foundry in Bo'ness,
Scotland, which cast (along with many other things), railing bar
heads and standard heads, street name plates and boot scrapers but
not door knockers. 3 Passing reference was also made to Archibald
Kenrick and Sons Ltd., when describing knocker design no. 12.4 In
an interview in October, 1976, a director of the firm, Mr. Hugh
Kenrick, confirmed my previously held view that many ironfounders
copied each others' products by the simple process of buying a
' Arch. Cant., xcii, (1976), 73-104.
2 ibid., lxxxvi, (1971), 173-92.
3 ibid., xcii (1976), 88, 89, 91, 101, 102.
• ibid., xcii (1976), 97.
137
D. STEPHENSON
specimen, separating the parts and making patterns, or even using
the parts as patterns: "We all did it". All Kenrick's products were
marked with the name of the company and the catalogue number of
the article. If space was too restricted for the company's name to be
given in full the initials A.K.S. and the number were always used.
Mr. Kenrick had never seen one of their undoubted products which
did not carry this means of identification. The ironfoundry began to
close in 1959 with the threat of the coming of the M5 motorway.5
There were numerous other ironfoundries engaged in the hollowware
trade in the West Bromwich area. There was intense
competition between the different companies and prices were low.
There must have been enough capacity to cast all the door knockers
and other door furnishings needed to satisfy the demands of
ironmongers and builders' merchants throughout the entire country.
It seems extremely likely that all, or almost all, our Kentish door
knockers and many of our cast-iron boot scrapers would have been
made in the West Midlands.
One of the earliest and best known foundries in the area was that
of the House of Izons. This company was founded by John Izons
who was born in 1735 and died in 1814. He was working as a brass
founder in 1760. He entered into partnership with his brother-inlaw,
Thomas Whitehouse in 1763. A ledger of 1776 refers to brass
door knockers. In 1782, the firm bought the mill at West Bromwich,
'near coal pits at Wednesbury and also near a canal which was
available for the transport of raw material and the conveyance to all
parts of the manufactured articles. ' 6 In 1826, William Izons
dissolved the partnership with Whitehouse and the company became
Izons and Company. Subsequently, the firm absorbed a number of
• For a history of Archibald Kenrick and Sons, Limited, see R.A. Church,
Kenricks in Hardware - A Family Business 1791-1966, Newton Abbot, 1969.
It is of interest here to quote from p. 65 '7 COMPETITION Competition in the
cast-iron hollow-ware trade stemmed from the existence of many foundries which,
when the manufacture of hollow-ware seemed to offer higher than 'normal' profits,
could be applied to the production of these products without very great difficulty.
William Kenrick noted that it was a peculiarity of the chief houses in the hollow-ware
trade that they also made a great variety of articles of general ironmongery, such as
hinges, pulleys, coffee mills, smoothing irons, umbrella stands, door knockers,
latches, handles, scrapers, porters, and a large variety of miscellaneous articles
included in the trade term of 'oddwork'. The manufacture of some of these articles,
according to Kenrick, was in every instance the original business, to which that of
making hollow-ware had been added, the number of branches of manufacture having
increased with the age and standing of the firm.'
• The factory was still in use in 1949. For a history of the company see W.E.
Jephcott, The House of fr.ons, 1948.
138
MORE DECORATIVE IRONWORK
competing companies some of which were amongst the oldest in the
cast-iron hollow-ware trade. Examples are:
1. Hill Top Foundry Company Ltd. - makers of domestic cast
iron in West Bromwich since 1799.
2. T. and C. Clark and Co. Ltd., of Horsley Fields, Wolverhampton,
established in 1795.
3. Edward Pugh and Company, of Hall Green on the borders of
West Bromwich and Wednesbury.'
As a result of these acquisitions Izons and Company became the
largest manufacturers of cast-iron hollow-ware in the United
Kingdom. An enormous trade was done in rice bowls for India in
ten sizes; two hundred men were employed in making them.
William Bullock and Company, Spon Lane Iron Foundry, West
Bromwich was established in 1805 and made a wide range of iron
goods similar to that of Izons and Company.
William Cross and Sons, Ltd., was established in West Bromwich
in 1835.
THE CATALOGUES
Trade directories, which were issued by publishing companies in
the second half of the eighteenth century, appear to have served
merchants and manufacturers to advertise their wares up to the first
quarter of the nineteenth century. 8 The earliest catalogue I have
seen is that of the Carron Company printed in 1823-24 and now in
the Scottish Record Office. 9 10 It seems probable that some of the
copper engravers who had made the plates for illustrating the
directories would be called upon to illustrate the early catalogues. 11
Even before they were engraved the copper plates would be quite
expensive but when covered with, say, twelve designs of door
knockers or nine of boot scrapers they had become extremely
valuable to their owners. Because of the cost of new plates the
existing ones were re-used in subsequent issues of lists or catalogues
and new designs were included on fresh pages which were given the
7 To retain the trading associations of this and other companies, new companies
with somewhat similar names were registered and incorporated under the title of
'Cast Hollow-ware Limited'.
8 Arch. Cant., xcii (1976), 87.
• Scottish Record Office, reference G.D. 58 15/5.
'
0
Arch. Cant., lxxxvi (1971), 177-8.
11 The Carron Company catalogue of 1823/4 was printed by P. Simonau, a
lithographer in London.
139
D. S1EPHENSON
previous number plus a letter, when inserted into the new
catalogue. None of the catalogues to be described include balconies
or railings.
1. Izons and Company. This catalogue is undated; it has been said
to be of about 1820 date but, as the firm was still Izons and
Whitehouse until 1826 and as page 22B illustrates a door
knocker incorporating a letter flap, it is most probably a reprint,
made in the 1840s, of an earlier edition.
The frontispiece is a fine engraving which displays a view of the
West Bromwich Works at the bottom, a royal arms above, and
in between, in splendid 'copper plate', the addresses of the
company and a list of the large variety of articles made there in
cast iron.
There are ten pages of designs of door knockers and eighty-nine
designs of boot scrapers. 'Fhe knockers in the first few pages are
numbered in a 500 series with some examples from a 200 series.
This again indicates that there was an earlier list.
2. The only copies of the earliest catalogues of Archibald Kenrick
and Sons known are still in the possession of the company. •i
The West Bromwich Central Library, Reference Department,
has a copy of the catalogue of c. 1871. 13
3. William Bullock and Co. A large catalogue which is very like
that of lzons and Company, with a similarly wide range of
products. There are illustrations of 280 different designs of door
knockers (the largest number yet met with in any catalogue)
covering pages 47 to 59 inclusive and then 59A to 59J inclusive
but omitting 59!. This catalogue is also undated but clues to the
date of publication may be obtained from studying the designs
of the knockers. No. 356 on page 59 depicts a Victorian lady;
the garland of roses, thistle and shamrock suggests that the head
is intended to represent Queen Victoria; it closely resembles the
head in the hallmarks of 1838. The following pages bear a letter
- 59A et seq. - which indicates an extended catalogue printed
after 1838. Page 59B has, squeezed in at the bottom, three
letter-box plates. 'In 1838 the Secretary to the Post Office in
12 Mr. Hugh Kenrick kindly made me photo-copies of the door knockers, with
hand-written table:. of the frequency of occurrence of the different patterns in the
company's catalogues. These and many other pages from the company's catalogues
have now been reproduced in a small volume by Michael Owen, Antique Cast Iron,
Poole, 1977.
13 Copies of the other catalogues mentioned were seen at the Reference
Department of the West Bromwich Central Library.
140
MORE DECORATIVE IRONWORK
Scotland told the Select Committee on Postage that "nearer two
thirds than one-half the time ( taken to deliver letters) might be
saved ... were letter boxes ... to be provided for the hall doors
of the principal houses. . ." . It was not until May 1849,
however, that it was decided to issue a notice to the public
appealing to them to provide "street door letter boxes, or slits,
in private dwelling houses" ...' 14 One would not expect an
enterprising producer of door knockers to miss the importance
of the message from the Secretary to the Post Office in
Scotland. It seems unlikely that the firm would have waited
until the public appeal before making letter-boxes available or
incorporating letter flaps into door-knocker designs.
The last page of door knockers in the Izons catalogue, which is
only partially filled, has as its penultimate design a knocker with
an upright letter flap. These considerations lead to the
conclusion that both these catalogues were printed in the 1840s,
the Izons antedating the Bullock one.
4. William Cross and Son, Ltd. This is a late catalogue printed in
blue ink on glossy paper. It illustrates 54 patterns of door
knockers; there are some 'special registered designs' which are
very elaborate and in some of which the word letters on the flaps
is split into groups of two or three letters. Letter plates and
'postal handles' are also featured. The latter consists of a heavy
letter plate with a horizontal handle fastened on each side of the
letter flap. The handle would presumably be intended to serve
the function of a door knob.
5. T. and C. Clark and Co. Ltd. A late catalogue of 'domestic
ironmongery' which contains no door knockers, two pages of
boot scrapers and an electric iron!
THE DESIGNS
DOOR KNOCKERS. The notes describing designs of door knockers in
Kent, given in the previous paper, 15 will first be amplified where
possible using the original numbers and then further designs will be
described.
Design no. 1. This is a classical design and examples may be seen
in the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
14 Jean Young Farrugia, The Letter Box -A History of Post Office Pillar and Wall
Boxes 1969, Fontwell, Sussex.
15 Arch. Cant., xcii (1976), 92-8.
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MORE DECORATIVE IRONWORK
Design no. 2. 'The WELLINGTON' This is one of the most interesting
and one of the most widespread designs. It is the only knocker to
have been given a name. Each of the three old catalogues described
above refers to the pattern as 'Wellington Knocker', 'WeIIington
Knockers' or just 'Wellington', 16 see Figs. 1, 2 and 3.
The design consists of a hand clasping a staff, which, in the lzons
pattern has sloping ends but in the other two the staff has raised
rings near the vertical ends. From the staff a wreath hangs and
serves as the hammer ring. At the lowest point of the wreath is a
lion head which serves as the hammer. The leaves of the wreath are
deeply divided and are probably strawberry leaves as used in the
ducal coronet. This leads to the conclusion that the pattern was
devised to commemorate the promotion of Sir Arthur Wellesley to
the dukedom of Wellington in 1814. The prominence given to the
design by WiHiam Bullock and the large number of models of the
design made available lead me to suppose that he was probably the
first manufacturer to market the design which was copied by other
ironfounders when it proved popular. In the Bullock catalogue this
design is the first knocker to be illustrated and the various models
are identified by a number of Os before single figures, (Fig. I);
Kenrick adopts a similar device but inserts the pattern between nos.
338 and 340, (Fig. 2): but Izons include two 'Wellington' patterns in
their 500 series, (Fig. 3). The second Izons Wellington pattern with
a large circular back plate is included as no. 277 in Bullock's
catalogue without reference· to the Wellington connection.
In the Coalbrookdale catalogue of c. 1875 there is a hand and
wreath knocker (no. 3) very like the 'Wellington' by Bullock but
having an ape-like head at the hammer.
Design no. 3. This design is illustrated in Bullock's catalogue as
nos. 164-6; as no. 533 in Izons' catalogue; as 310 and 316 in
Kenrick's catalogue and as no. 77 in William Cross and Son, Ltd. It
is obviously an old design, probably much earlier than 1840.
16 It was probably around the time of his promotion to the dukedom that
Wellington became the popular national hero: public thoroughfares were named for
him, it seemed, in every town in the country. (Geographers' Atlas of London and
Suburbs lists seventeen Wellesley and thirty seven Wellington streets). It must have
been then that an enterprising ironfounder, perhaps William Bullock, casting the new
name plates, designed the first Wellington knocker to accompany them. Other ironfounders
copied the successful pattern.
The only house in Wellington Street, Gravesend having the original door is no. 16;
the door carries a Wellington knocker, as does no. 3 Peacock Street nearby.
Houses in Wellington Street, Cheltenham had Wellington knockers - Miss A.
Chatwin, personal communication.
143
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XJz5 _ //5
D. STEPHENSON
DOOR KNOCKERS
WELLIN"G·TON
ooo _fo.f o _ ¼'
oo--2/ 1_3/-
Fig. 2. Door Knockers from the Catalogue of Archibald Kenrick and Sons, Ltd., of
c. 1840.
144
MORE DECORATIVE IRONWORK
Design no. 4. Two versions of this design were popular; one
small, the other much larger, (Fig. 2, nos. 339 and 355). In each
case the larger knocker has two (Bullock and Kenrick) or three
(Izons) annular rings on each side of the hammer ring, near the top.
Design no. 5. The variations in this other lion head are numerous.
Bullock's nos. 167-9 have a heavy flask-shaped hammer ring and
the no. 364 has a floral device at the hammer head, as does the
Kenrick no. 311. Izons' nos. 525-8 have a very heavy hammer ring
and a more leonine head which brings it close to Design no. 1. The
William Cross late design has a U-shaped hammer ring with a flower
at the head.
Design no. 6. Nothing quite like this simple but elegant design has
been seen in any of the catalogues examined.
Design no. 7. The Bullock design no. 260 has a diamond shape
above the hinge; more decorated patterns are nos. 308 and 351 but
no. 426 is nearer to the previously recorded design. William Cross
has a diamond shape above the hinge in place of the more
frequently observed triangular floral motif. Kenrick's no. 364 is their
nearest pattern whilst their no. 215 has three annular rings at the
hammer head and a somewhat larger back-plate.
Design no. 8. William Cross does not show this pattern. It is the
Izons nos. 208-10, the Bullock's nos. 174-6 and Kenrick's nos.
324B-5 (Fig. 2). All are almost exactly alike.
Design no. 9. All the catalogues include this pattern; Bullock as
nos. 261-3; Cross as nos. 43 and 43A; Izons as nos. 559 and 559 A
and B; Kenrick as nos. 356 A and B.
Design no. 10. Bullock's design no. 266 is almost identical. The
catalogue also contains other wreath patterns; some resemble this
but have the lion head replaced by a shell or a crossed ribbon at the
hammer; Kenrick also has this design (Fig. 2, no. 349) and others
similar to the Bullock ones, e.g. nos. 344 and 345. No comparable
designs appear in the Izons catalogue.
Design no. 11. A clear illustration of it occurs in the William
Cross series as no. 40. In the Kenrick catalogue of c. 1880 it is
shown as the no. 405 but the details of the design are not very clear.
Bullock's and Izons' catalogues do not illustrate the design.
Design no. 12. This, like design no. 11, is undoubtedly a late nineteenth-
century design. It appears also in the catalogue of William
Cross as no. 44 and in the Kenrick catalogue of c. 1876 as no. 402.
Design no. 13. No design quite like this has been seen elsewhere
on any door or in any catalogue.
Design no. 14. It appears in Bullock's catalogue as no. 179 with a
note that it is 7 in. in diameter and cost 3s. - the highest price for a
Bullock knocker - see Fig. 1 the price list. It also appears in
145
D. STEPHENSON
fiOOR .x... ..· o CKERS.
WELLP,l'GTOS OCKY.11 S.
Fig. 3. Door Knockers from the Catalogue of Izons and Company.
146
MORE DECORATIVE IRONWORK
Kenrick's catalogue as no. 340 and it is also priced at 3s. (Fig. 2).
Izons' catalogue does not contain a design quite like this; the
nearest pattern no. 529 has a smooth hammer ring, not a wreath:
the price of ls. 6d. suggests that this was a much smaller knocker
than design no. 14.
An example of this knocker was recently seen on the handsome
heavy door of no. 6 Euston Place, The Parade, Leamington Spa, in
association with splendid cast-iron railings with adjoining balconies
of design no. 7 and panels of design no. 3 used as step rails.2
Design no. 15. Kenrick's pattern (Fig. 2, no. 343) can be traced
back to their earliest catalogue of c. 1836. Izons' design no. 546
(Fig. 3) and Bullock's no. 231 both have a longer tail and hammer
ring than the pattern we know in Kent.
Izons' design no. 543 (Fig. 3) having the bird more prominently
displayed and turned to the right with a highly decorated back-plate
is echoed in Bullock's nos. 221-2 and more simply in the late
version by Cross (no. 60).
Design no. 16. This appeared first as a 'registered knocker' in
Kenrick's catalogue of c. 1870, given the number 53871. It is also
illustrated in Bullock's catalogue as no. 414 and in Cross as no. 73,
but not in Izons' catalogue.
Design no. 17. No similar design has been seen in any of the
catalogues examined. The example recorded is probably quite early,
say, late eighteenth-century.
Design no. 18. The popularity of the Wellington design seems to
have given an impetus to the making of patterns employing the
wreath as hammer ring. Bullock's design no. 227 is very like design
no. 18, except that the hand is replaced by a cluster of oak leaves;
his design no. 244 has a fist clutching a very short, plain staff and at
the hammer the lion head is replaced by a floral device. Beyond
making their two Wellington knockers available Izons did not take
up the wreath motif. Kenrick's no. 213 bas a hand with a small plain
rod, a dependent laurel wreath with crossed ribbons and a small
flower at the hammer point.
Design no. 19. This is Bullock's design no. 327, Izons' last
knocker design no. 608 and Kenrick's no. 390. William Cross's
back-plate to his no. 81 is very similar but the hammer is divided as
is also the case in Bullock's no. 339 and Kenrick's no. 264; all three
patterns seem to be exactly alike; two must surely be copies of the
other.
Design no. 20. Mr. Hugh Kenrick regards the head on this pattern
as being that of Mercury, the Roman messenger of the gods,
wearing his winged hat. 17 The pattern is no. 173000 of Kenrick's
" Personal communication from Mr. Hugh Kenrick.
147
D. STEPHENSON
registered designs; it nevertheless appears in the Cross catalogue as
no. 72. Kenrick's design has the no. 414 in the catalogue of c. 1869.
Design no. 21. The clearest illustration of the complete design,
before the inclusion of a letter-flap, is given on p. 59A of Bullock's
catalogue as no. 377. The same design with a vertical letter-flap
replacing much of the back-plate is also well illustrated on the next
page (59B) as no. 385. The same page carries illustrations of
horizontal letter-plates. William Cross has the design without letterflap
as his no. 82. Kenrick illustrates the design with back-plate as
no. 295 and with letter-flap as no. 295B in the catalogue of c. 1855.
Izons' catalogue does not have this design.
Design no. 22. This design in which the bat is standing so
unnaturally on its hind feet, instead of hanging by them is shown
only by Kenrick and by Cross. The fonner has it in the catalogue of
c. 1887 as no. 422 and the latter as no. 61. The latter is by far the
clearer illustration.
In the previous paper reference was made to the use of the human
hand as a knocker and a 'house protecting amulet'. 18 This pattern of
knocker is still to be seen on doors of old houses throughout the
Mediterranean area where Islamic influence has been strong. It
consists of a dependent female hand, generally with a frilled cuff,
hinged at the wrist and holding a ball which serves as the hammer
head. The design does not seem to have become popular in
England; none have been seen in Kent. The pattern is illustrated in
Bullock's catalogue, no. 306, as a left hand in a frilled cuff with a
ring on the second finger. In Kenrick's catalogue of c. 1855 it is
shown as a left hand with a ring, no. 265, similar to Bullock's no.
306, but in later editions of 1899 and c. 1916 it is shown as a right
hand without a ring but still with a frilled cuff.
In Fig. 1 it will be noticed, that, after the 'Wellington knocker',
the designs are numbered strictly in order; this is continued on all the
pages of illustrations of knockers; this occurs only in the Bullock
catalogue. Nos. 145-148 are very definitely in the Regency style, but
what are we to think of no. 149? We have considered the role of
symbolism in the Wellington knocker but what part, if any, can it
have played here? The pattern is much more easily seen in the
larger and clearer picture in the Izons illustration, no. 510; it
consists of a three-storey tower with a human head above it with,
below that, an animal head. The elliptical hammer-ring is hinged at
'* Generally regarded as representing the hand of Fatima, daughter of
Mohammed; Arch. Cant., xcii (1976), 95.
148
MORE DECORATIVE IRONWORK
Fig. 4. Boot Scrapers from the Catalogue of Carron Company, 1832/4.
the temples of the feminine face and from both hinges there hangs a
leg with a hoof. The hammer ring itself appears to be in the form of
folds of fabric or fur and at the hammer head are two haunches with
the legs and hooves turned outwards; see Fig. 1, no. 149.
Around 1840, when letter flaps began to be made available for
house doors, there was a movement to register designs of door
149
D. STEPHENSON
knockers. This was followed by an increase in complexity of many
patterns. The increase in complexity was probably an attempt by the
ironfoundry companies to achieve distinction and individuality in
their designs. Yet Coalbrookdale's design no. 27 in the catalogue of
c. 1870, Kenrick's design no. 332 in their catalogue of 1871 and
Bullock's design no. 424 are almost, if not exactly, alike and equally
unattractive. So copying had returned in some measure by the early
1870s.
BOOT SCRAPERS. Cast iron patterns.
The earliest patterns I have seen are those in the catalogue of the
Carron Company of 1823-24. Page 52, in that catalogue, illustrates,
at the top of the page, three scrapers and below them a length of
garden edging and two wrought-iron fenders. (The first scraper (A)
has two slender, square-section supports with elliptical knobs at the
tops and with bases suitable to be set in stone; the scraper bar has
two semicircular cut-out portions below. The second scraper (B) is
like Fig. 4,P, but has only one supporting foot whilst the third
scraper (C) is exactly like Fig. 4,N.).
Page 53 is reproduced in Fig. 4. 19 Scrapers K and L are the
original 'griffon' of the Design no. 7. Scrapers N, 0 and P have
been widely copied, with minor variations, as for example in the
Wm. Bullock and Company catalogue, Fig. 5. The 'griffon' design
has also been developed. The designs used in scrapers Hand I were
reproduced in a slightly more elaborate pattern by, for example, in
Bullock's nos. 8 and 9, Fig. 5, and in Kenrick's nos. 429 and 433.
Boot scrapers were cast by nearly all the ironfoundries mentioned
in this and the preceding papers. 1
•
2 Almost all the patterns were
provided with wrought iron (later steel) scraper bars or 'tongues':
thin cast iron in such a situation would have been too easily broken
or chipped. An example of the use of thick cast iron without a
separate tongue is shown in Fig. 6, no. 6.
As with door knockers the notes describing the designs of cast
iron boot scrapers noted in Kent, will be extended or corrected
where necessary, using the original numbers.
Design no. I. This is the original Carron Company pattern Fig. 4,
M. It was made also by the other older foundries such as Bullock,
Coalbrookdale 'Wallscraper plain', Izons no. 5 and Kenrick, no.
19 It seems probable that Carron Company wished to retain the garden edging and
the two fenders in their catalogue of 1823/4 and so allowed the duplication of some
designs of scrapers thereby avoiding the expense of a new copper plate.
150
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Fig. 6. Scrapers from the Catalogue of Izons and Company.
152
MORE DECORATIVE IRONWORK
432. Sometimes the scraper bar would be straight, at other times
curved outwards.
Decoration was frequently introduced, the most common taking
the form of horizontal corrugations around the inside edge of the
framework as in the Coalbrookdale 'wall scraper ornamented', in
Izons' 5a, Fig. 6, and in Kenrick's no. 493. Elaborate 'drops' were
also frequently added at the inside top and sides of the framework
and below the tongue as in Fig. 6, no. Sa.
Designs nos. 2, 3 and 4. Nothing quite like these designs has been
seen in the catalogues examined. It may be that the patterns were
specially modified or that they had a short 'life'.
Design no. 5. Another design which has not been noted in the
catalogues. Doubtless there were many other foundries than those
mentioned here which cast scrapers, and these foundries might have
had their own designs.
Design no. 6. None of the catalogues examined has illustrated a
similar simple pattern. The scraper shown is outside the oldest part
of the premises of the office of the Dreadnought Seamens' Hospital,
Greenwich.
Design no. 7. The original Carron Company design Fig. 4, K has
been widely copied as for example in Bullock's no. 6A, Fig. 5, in
lzons' no. 28 and Kenrick's no. 426.
Design no. 8. It resembles the Carron Company pattern, Fig. 4,
G. Other companies have produced their own versions of this plain
design, such as Coalbrookdale's no. 16A, Izons' no. 85 and
Kenrick's no. 486.
Design no. 9. This is the original Carron. Company design Fig.
4,N which has been so widely reproduced by other companies.
Design no. JO. No heavy scraper like this has been seen amongst
the illustrations in the catalogues examined. The elaborate design,
the rust-proof material and its uniqueness suggest that it was not
mass produced in a factory.
Design no. 11. The light inexpensive scraper-bar was not cast; it is
most likely made from thick sheet steel and made locally: not seen
in any catalogue.
Design no. 12. Victorian Gothic designs do not seem to have been
extensively copied, each foundry company having its own preferred
designs. Izons show several patterns of approximately the same
degree of complexity: Coalbrookdale plate 270, no. 12A has an
attractive pattern with tracery under the tongue, whilst Kenrick's
no. 584 has two quatrefoils in the tongue and three gothic 'drops'
below it.
Design no. 13. The two pieces of this cast-iron gate post are
illustrated under the heading 'ST AND ARDS' as 'pilaster' and
153
D. STEPHENSON
'brace' in the undated catalogue of William N. Froy of the
Brunswick Works, Hammersmith, London, W.20
Wall scrapers of the type represented by designs nos. 1 to 4 are
amongst the oldest forms of scrapers (Fig. 4, M), and, except
perhaps those scrapers outside churches or other public buildings,
have survived in larger numbers than other forms. This longevity
may be ascribed to the fact that they do not significantly encroach
o n the footpath, causeway or pavement. Perhaps because of the
extra labour involved in their insertion into the walls, either during
construction work or later, their use by builders seems to have lost
favour earlier than the pan or garden or even the type 'to be set in
stone'. Indeed the pan scraper seems to have outnumbered and
outlasted all other types.
IROI,!WORK IN CHURCHYARDS
Under the heading 'area or street railings' in the previous paper
the use of railings, largely of cast iron, around tombs, was
discussed. 21 At this point two examples of the use of wrought iron
around table tombs in St. Peter's Churchyard, Ightham, are worth
recording.
1. At the south-east comer of the church: the inscriptions are
illegible because of the growth of lichens and algae. The rails
are of square-section bar wrought with single necks and
pointed tips. Six standards of the 'turned wooden stair rails'
pattern support the wrought iron horizontals through which
the rails pass. The standards are of cast iron with graceful
cast-iron urns on top - one at each corner and at the centres
of the long sides.
2. A few yards east of the east window the table tomb is closely
surrounded by a wrought iron grille of typical smith's work
with sweeping scrolls and hammered embellishments which
support a horizontal rail close to the edge of the table top.
The rail bears spikes which project above the edge. The
whole is now heavily corroded apart from one length of spikebearing
rail which appears to have been renewed.
20 Personal communication from Miss Amina Chatwin of Cheltenham. The
catalogue also contains pages of illustrations of 'Railing Bars and Heads', 'Standard
Heads' and 'Standards'. Design no. 13 occurs under the last heading and is shown in
two parts the standard proper and the side support or 'brace'.
21 Arch. Cant., xcii, (1976), 91.
154
B
C
'X' indioates the
position of countersunk
screws at the back
of the arms of I C 1
•
MORE DECORATIVE IRONWORK
,,
D
'(,'\
. ' -
Fig. 7. Cast-iron Memorials from Plaxtol Churchyard.
155
D. STEPHENSON
The only surname still legible is Crittle - on the east face.
Recently, during tidying of the churchyard at Plaxtol, some
unusual cast-iron memorials were found lying in the long grass.
They consisted of four separate pieces illustrated in Fig. 7.
A. The most complete memorial; it consists of a simple cross with
notched upper ends bearing the letters R.I.P. at the centre: a
circle 2 in. wide and 18 in. external diameter, centrally placed,
carries the epitaph. The total height of the memori'al is 28 in. and
width 22 in.; the whole appears to have been cast in one piece.
The inscription is in raised lettering, all of which was still quite
clear, although heavily rusted, except for the age of the deceased
which could have been 66 or 68 or even 88. The epitaph reads
'Lewis Porter died Sept. 11, 1912 aged 66 (?) years'
B. A detached circle of cast iron 18 in. external diameter and 21/s
in. wide. It bears the inscription 'John Henry Beavin died Feb 15
aged 48 years'.
C. Consists of a much lighter cross than in 'A' which has been
broken at the centre and badly repaired. It is now held together
by a circle of cast iron bolted onto the upright; the circle is 11 ¾
in. external diameter and the rim is 3/s in. wide; it bears the words
'William Beavin died Feb 21 1912 aged 80 years' At the back of
the arms of the cross are the remains of two countersunk screws
15 in. apart.
Although the rusty surface at the back of circle 'B' now shows
no remains of screws it is very probaple £hat 'B' was fastened
concentric to the smaller circle on 'C', the whole forming a
memorial to father and son.
D. This memorial was cast in one piece and was evidently
intended to carry a painted epitaph. Nothing is now to be seen
but an empty rusted surface. The dimensions· are: total height
42½ in., width of the body 16½ in., the cross bar is 14¼ in. long
and 2 in. wide. The head carrying the monogram IHS is 7¼ in.
high and 6¾ in. wide. The memorial was obviously held in place
by having the legs pushed deeply in the soil.
This is the only specimen of its kind I have seen but such a
heavy and comparatively complicated memorial, bearing no
epitaph, must surely have been intended to be cast in some
number and to be widely used. It would be interesting to know of
any similar examples elsewhere. 22
22 The memorials could not have been cast in Plaxtol. In living memory there has
not been a foundry in Plaxtol. Personal communication from Hyders to Mr. L.
Lowery.
156
MORE DECORATIVE IRONWORK
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Borough Librarian of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell,
Mr. R.B. Ludgate, A.L.A., welcomed me to see the Izons
catalogue, and Mr. J.K. Maddison, of the Reference Library, West
Bromwich, showed me the other catalogues in their excellent
collection and made photo-copies. I am very grateful to both these
gentlemen for their help. My thanks go, too, to our member Mrs.
M. Lewis, for drawing my attention to the cast-iron memorials in
Plaxtol Churchyard.
157
