These top hat finial railings are situated outside the National Trust’s Assembly Rooms in the centre of Bath and date back to 1771 the year the Assembly rooms were completed. In 2015 we were tasked with making sympathetic repairs to the railings after they were damaged by vandals who trying to steal the lead sheeting off the roof. (And yes.. they were caught red-handed by the overnight security guard and the Police!)
Martin and Alan carried out the repairs on site, some of the finials had decayed and some were fractured upon impact. It was obvious that there had been some previous repairs carried out as there are some mild steel replacement finials (probably done in the 1980′s) which were lacking in refinement. The team repaired seven railing finials in total. The original leaves were all salvaged and reused, Martin and Alan carefully brazed to fill the holes and damaged sections. The new versions were cut off and replaced with more delicate versions!
An interesting project in a very prestigious location – and satisfying to know that Ironart had a role to play in the history of the Assembly room railings.