Wrought Iron Architectural Metalwork
Designed & manufactured in the U.K
By: Chris Topp & Co Ltd, North Yorkshire
Tel: 01845 501415
Articles
A short plotted history of the early years of Chris Topp of
Chris Topp & Co. following his work up to 1992.
Chris Topp did not stand at a forge and work hot metal until he was 27. Seventeen years later he is one of England’s best known blacksmiths and the force behind the move to ‘rediscover’ wrought iron.
Chris started The Campaign for Real Iron in the early 1980’s when he realised that the skills associated with the traditional material of the blacksmith were disappearing.
The last works producing wrought iron in this country closed in 1974. In the early days of the company Chris used to scour the countryside, he frequently dropping what we was doing when he heard of possible stock. A limited amount our wrought iron was being produced at the iron bridge Gorge Museum, but Chris was discovering this not enough to keep him going on his projects.
In 1990, Topp won a contract to construct elegant early 18th century style gates and railings at a country house near York, for a client who appreciated the difference between the mild steel that was usually supplied, and real wrought iron.
The problem was; where to find the wrought iron. He heard of a large stockpile, originally the handrail on the south pier at Sunderland, that was about to be thrown away and dashed to the north east. He returned with 15 tons, a load that cost him £200, but which laid the foundations of his business.
In 1990 Chris moved to north Yorkshire from Dorothea Restoration Engineering Company he had been managing in Derbyshire to try to get away from people constantly dropping in and asking me to mend prams and sledges. Chris managed to buy the former village garage, which became his forge, plus the house that went with it for £32,000.
Chris was keen to get into some real restoration work, though initially he was resigned to making fire irons, and the misnomer of wrought iron to sell to tourists and garden centres.
Fortunately for Chris, the York contract put paid to that. Through his former contacts in Derbyshire and local conservation bodies, Chris found he had enough restoration work to support his wife and young daughter.
Chris’s main desire was to do forge work, from an early age he had been fascinated by iron, when he was at school in Bolton, he used to go and watch the men at the Atlas Iron works.
After gaining a degree in civil engineering at Newcastle University, Chris worked briefly for British Waterways where he concentrated on jobs involving 18th and 19th century iron structures. He started the Derbyshire workshop with a few old school friends, but when that diversified in the late 1970’s, he decided to branch out on his own.
The original stockpile from Sunderland has long gone. In its place is a stock of assorted vintages of wrought iron. Chris acquired rusting bars of metal, some of the finest produced in the early 18th century for the school of Jean Tijou. Some of this was used restore a magnificent pair of gates from Marstron Trussell Hall in Northamptonshire. This is the sort of work Chris loved to do; the work at that period was so delicate and well proportioned.
The end of the 19th century brought the introduction of mass produced puddle irons – inferior, in Chris’s view, to the earlier work made and refined in charcoal fires. However, for everyday purposes, the two are indistinguishable. Both offer a resistance to rust and corrosion you will not find in steel. Their fibrous nature means they are unsurpassed for ornamental ironwork, where there is a lot of fine beaten three dimensional metalwork.
Wrought ironwork costs more than mild steel, which was introduced in the 1850’s. Despite of the cost, Chris’s did not have a slack period in early years. He has supplied work to the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, Warwick Castle and other famous and historic buildings.
He we have recalled the early years of Chris Topp, following his work up to 1992, this year the company is celebrating its 30th Anniversary, we are extremely proud of the humble beginnings and Chris’s vision for the company and the industry, too many priceless pieces of historic wrought iron are being ruined forever by the repair or restoration with iron and steel materials and not real wrought iron. He works tirelessly in the field of metallurgy and archaeology in raising the standard of restoration work by blacksmiths and bodies working in the field of historic buildings.
Issued January 2012.
First Impressions - Why finish with the gates and railings when it’s the first thing you see?
Gates and railings not only distinguish the entrance and perimeter to a property they create a first impression to all visitors and passers by. We often ask ourselves us why house owners will spend freely on the interior design and furnishings in the hope of creating a good impression but totally overlook the front boundary. It is an important enhancement to any property and has traditionally been seen as part of the overall architectural concept. Gates and Railings are a symbol of good taste and status stately homes traditionally commissioned grand and lavish designs to grace a main entrance.
Today gates and railings are a focal feature and increasingly a medium of expression, both personally and sculpturally, a piece of art combining beauty and function that everyone can appreciate. They add a feel good factor to a property, quality traditional hand-made using traditional techniques to recreate time-honoured designs. Ironwork is individual yet distinctive, combining traditional skills and designs that have stood the test of time.
Railings are functional boundaries defining a space an attitude re-enforced by the fact that heritage grant aid has in many cases been used to re-instate period railings, removed in The Second World War for scrap, with designs copied from old photographs. These often reflect the design ethos of the time in terms of proportion, style and quality of manufacture, a tradition that continues to this day, although increasingly we are asked to develop new and more artistic ideas.
Gates and railings create the right first time impression of high quality designs and craftsmanship.
So why, are gates and railings so often one of the last items to be commissioned? Budget constraints, over spend, lack of interest, surely the front garden and driveway should not merely act as a thoroughfare to the sanctuary of the house? Nicely designed Gates and Railings create a first impression that can make a real statement, giving your home a sense of grandeur and privacy.
Is your iron work made in genuine Wrought Iron, Mild Steel or Pure Iron?
To the naked eye there is no visible difference between forged bars of Wrought Iron & Mild Steel (its modern day equivalent) or Pure Iron. However Wrought Iron is not distinguished by its looks but by its working properties and its resistance to corrosion. Wrought Iron is softer to forge, as it is workable at a higher heat than Mild Steel making it more ‘malleable’ under the hammer. However it is Wrought Iron’s superior weathering properties that are most notable. Wrought Iron is known for its durability. Just look at the amount of Wrought Iron in heritage sites and buildings that are over 300 years old.
Search the web and you will find 600,000 sites listed under Wrought Iron of which only a small fraction will be genuine Wrought Iron. Today the term Wrought Iron can mean almost any type of metal and any manner of construction from something you can buy in a local DIY store to the screens at Hampton Court by Jean Tijou. Ornamental ironwork is often referred to as Wrought Iron even though it is more likely to be made from mild steel. The difference in quality and value is enormous.
All three materials have their place in the manufacturing industry world and all require a level of skill or craftsmanship to deliver an end product, but unlike most other crafts in the heritage field, users and specifiers generally have little understanding of Wrought Ironwork. This is not altogether surprising as no BS standard or English Heritage guidance are available for working with Wrought Iron. To add further to this, architects and related professionals are often not trained in the field and do not understand the difference between fabrication and traditional methods and between Wrought Iron, mild steel and pure iron. Training for professionals is now available – CPD’s - see www.nhig.co.uk - for a greater awareness of the problems associated with the wrong specifications and allowance of inappropriate materials and methods of construction.
In answer to the question – if you can see mechanical welds on the outside of a product then it’s very likely to be made in mild steel. In the words of a blacksmiths, "You wouldn't buy a piece of wooden furniture with the glue on the outside of the joints would you?" If no welds can be seen then further tests would need to be carried out to determine the material used.
A related item to read is ‘Working with Trading Standards’ click here.
Parks and Bandstands
Every Victorian park had to have a bandstand, many of which succumbed to the indifference of the post war years. With the advent of the Heritage Lottery Fund many of our parks have received much needed attention and along with the park gates and fencing, many bandstands have been the subject of restoration projects. Chris Topp & Co has been fortunate to be instrumental in the repair of many of these.
With possible funding available and a growing interest in public spaces, a demand has arisen for new bandstands. Chris Topp’s latest project was at Roberts Park in Saltaire, they won a tender process in 2009 to create and build an open bandstand for this historic park.
Opened in 1871 Roberts Park is within the World Heritage Site of Saltaire and Grade II listed. The unusual opportunity to create a distinctive bandstand as a focal point & enhancement of the landscape architecture came through the parks refurbishment programme. The original bandstand, recorded only in archive photographs, was very modest and given the exceptional character of the Saltaire village an attempt to reconstruct it was considered not necessarily appropriate. The architect developed the outline size & theme of the new bandstand informed by a series of consultation programmes with the local community & close cooperation with conservation & heritage representatives. The emerging ‘Park Vision’ was refined into three themes of which the ‘Saltaire Flower & Musical Delights’ received consensus.
As specialist ironwork designers Chris Topp & Co’s role was to apply this concept to the outline proposal of the bandstand, fully detailing all aspects of its decoration & construction.
The theme was really interesting to work with, possibly because it was established from sketches by children at Saltaire Primary School. The class, when asked to draw their thoughts on ‘What does music outdoors mean to you?’ & ‘What is a bandstand?’ conceived the idea of combining musical instruments with the parks foliage. The result a horn that blew flowers & leaves in place of notes! This concept had the added benefit of a direct reference to Saltaire’s heritage, with flowers being a distinctive decorative element within the local buildings. Expanding on this, assembling four capital designs each based on a casual reference associating the instrument to the plant.
• Horns & Saxifrage
• Violins & Maple
• Cymbals & (blue) Bells
• Harps & Shamrocks
Following 9 months of construction the bandstand had its official opening ceremony on the 23rd May 2010
Chris Topp & Co have also worked on: Hyde Park, Hyde, Cheshire: We removed and rebuilt the roof of this bandstand which involved the sourcing of deleted sections of steel tees, which were tracked down in France. Horden Park, Tyne and Wear: The bandstand was fully restored we were commissioned to replace the wrought iron balustrading. Weston Park, Sheffield: Complete dismantling and restoration of an interesting bandstand comprising cast iron structure and inner timber structure. The bandstand can be converted into a closed area by the raising of timber and glass sashes.
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