A short walk near home yesterday took me along a street punctuated with striking wrought iron work. Many of the houses lost most of their railings during the war when the iron went for munitions, but some fine pieces survive to be admired.
The railings below form the boundary of Edinburgh's botanical gardens. They stretch for the best part of a mile and they are currently being painted - it is a Forth Bridge job! There are several men at work, systematically stripping, priming and finishing, with one or two usually squeezed in the small gap between the ironwork and the prickly holly hedge behind.
For a very beautiful collection of ironwork, have a look here (or even better, go there in real life!).
Thanks for these interesting pictures, Cornflower. There's a very good website by the not-for-profit organisation, Scottish Ironwork, which has a wealth of information on railings, gates, bandstands, street furniture, etc.
It features pictures, too, of many pieces of architectural and ornamental ironwork throughout Scotland. Well worth a visit for those who believe such beautifully ctafted items added so much to the dignity and amenity of our streets. Just go to www.scottishironwork.org
Posted by: Octavo | 30 November 2008 at 05:55 PM