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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. 

It is National Heritage Iron Work Group’s ultimate aim to set up a register of accredited smiths, made up of those who have proved themselves in some way competent to work on listed ironwork. There is going to be a difficult path to the introduction of regulation in a previously unregulated profession. We will watch with anticipation.

We have just completed work on stair balustrading and wall handrails as part of a £6 million contract awarded to Mansell Construction at Kensington Palace. Their project involved enhancements to the existing building and the construction a new shop and café for customer Historic Royal Palaces.

The contract is part of the charity’s major £12 million “Welcome to Kensington: a palace for everyone” project that will see the palace transformed in time for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics in 2012. The Mansell contract involves the remodelling, alteration and refurbishment of parts of the palace while the remaining palace stays open to the public. Extensive landscaping works to the surrounding gardens will also be undertaken to form a new visitor entrance and a water feature installed around the Queen Victoria Statue. Kensington Palace was built in 1689 and was the birthplace of Queen Victoria. It is looked after by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces which manages some of the country’s most significant and popular historic buildings including the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace.

We have been commissioned to provide a nine metre balustrade with a sapele handrail for a new project at Grimston Park Estate in North Yorkshire.

We were appointed by Historic Scotland to provide bespoke ironwork alterations to Mar’s Wark in Stirling.  Existing railings needed to be adjusted for Health & Safety reasons; all delivered to the highest standards of work using traditional techniques and genuine wrought iron.

English Heritage has finally published their monster work on Practical Building Conservation. Please follow the link to order your copy:

Chris Topp saw the draft some eighteen months ago and at a quick survey, it looks very comprehensive. We will do a review in the near future.