Student ‘Metals’ Essay Prize winner 2023

We awarded Alexandra Dziegiel a prize for this impressive essay on historic iron, its deterioration and conservation.

Metals Essay Prize 2023 (.pdf)

Patrick Baty delivered this presentation at our seminar on ‘Colour and Finish’ in London on 15th November 2018

Architectural Ironwork - Coatings & Colour by Patrick Baty (.pdf)

A practical ‘crib-sheet’ to point you in the right direction when dealing with heritage ironwork.  Where do you start? What should you look for? What are the issues?

Download this helpful snapshot overview here: Ruined or Restored? (.pdf)

Proctor Taylor

Forged-vs-fabricated.pdf

Nicola Emmerson has co-published a scientific paper on corrosion rates of various wrought iron samples when coated with 5 different preparations.

We cannot publish anything but the abstract, but she has made her email address available and if you want to question her about her findings, you can. Please contact us for more information.

The abstract, which raises some of the issues NHIG was founded to solve, is below:

Reference
Emmerson, N. J. and Watkinson, D. E. 2016. Surface preparation of historic wrought iron: evidencing the requirement for standardisation Materials and Corrosion 67 (2), 176 – 189

Abstract
The conservation of heritage wrought iron relies on corrosion prevention by preparation of surfaces and application of protective coatings. In contrast to industrial and engineering treatment of modern steel, conservation practice is not regulated by accepted national and international standards or underpinned by empirical evidence. This paper presents the results of oxygen consumption rate testing (as proxy corrosion rate) of historic wrought iron samples prepared by five commonly applied surface preparation methods and subjected to high humidity environments, with outcomes assessed by use of international standards employed in industrial contexts. Results indicate that choice of surface preparation method has a direct influence on corrosion rate of the uncoated wrought iron, which impacts on performance of the protective coatings that may ultimately determine survival or loss of our rich wrought iron heritage. By implication, more extensive empirical evidence is required to underpin and develop heritage standards for treatment of wrought iron which encompass specifics of the historic material, heritage context and the ethics of conservation practice. The introduction of such standards is called for in order to bring treatment of historic ironwork in line with highly regulated engineering and industrial practices.

Reference

Emmerson, N. J. and Watkinson, D. E. 2016. Surface preparation of historic wrought iron: evidencing the requirement for standardisation Materials and Corrosion 67 (2), 176 – 189

Abstract

The conservation of heritage wrought iron relies on corrosion prevention by preparation of surfaces and application of protective coatings. In contrast to industrial and engineering treatment of modern steel, conservation practice is not regulated by accepted national and international standards or underpinned by empirical evidence. This paper presents the results of oxygen consumption rate testing (as proxy corrosion rate) of historic wrought iron samples prepared by five commonly applied surface preparation methods and subjected to high humidity environments, with outcomes assessed by use of international standards employed in industrial contexts. Results indicate that choice of surface preparation method has a direct influence on corrosion rate of the uncoated wrought iron, which impacts on performance of the protective coatings that may ultimately determine survival or loss of our rich wrought iron heritage. By implication, more extensive empirical evidence is required to underpin and develop heritage standards for treatment of wrought iron which encompass specifics of the historic material, heritage context and the ethics of conservation practice. The introduction of such standards is called for in order to bring treatment of historic ironwork in line with highly regulated engineering and industrial practices.

Keywords

coatings; corrosion; heritage; iron; protection; standards; surface preparation

For a copy of the paper please email Nicola Emmerson
EmmersonNJ@Cardiff.ac.uk

 by Kendra Wilson

Are railings always black?

Before the middle of the 20th century, ironwork was not black. It was much more likely to be green, gray, or red-brown.

Gardenista has a very interesting article on the development of paint colours used on ironwork that dispels the popular myth that Queen Victoria is responsible for all the black ironwork we see today.

Author: H.J. Louw

The Rise of the Metal Window during the Early Industrial Period in Britain, c.1750-1830

From the University of Cambridge – Department of Architecture’s downloadable archive of the Journal of Construction History (CHS).

By Matthew Boultwood and Jo Adkins

Lead and You

By Patrick Baty

The Use of Colour on Architectural Ironwork