Replacing a London Wall-Top Railing and Balustrade

There’s a growing movement here in the UK to restore the decorative parts of period homes that have been lost or covered up over time. Just take a look at the #victorianterrace tag on Instagram and you can see countless examples of homeowners stripping out modern-style plastic windows to replace them with more traditional sash-style alternatives or uncovering original decorative tiled floors in halls. We love to help customers to restore their home’s cast and wrought iron railings back to life and we recently had the opportunity to do just that on a flat in London.

This Victorian terrace is located just a short walk from some of London’s most historic sites including Lord’s Cricket Ground and Abbey Road Studios. The lower-ground floor of the property had been separated into a self-contained flat and the owner had chosen to expand to the rear with a stylish extension. Access to the front of the property is through an external basement staircase and as part of the wider work, the owners decided to refresh this area with a front wall-top railing and staircase balustrade.

New for Old

The original property railing panel featured two intricate natural cast iron patterns embellished with leaves and Celtic symbols and topped with railing heads. The homeowner was able to supply us with different smaller section of the original railing. Using this, our experienced foundry, and cast iron specialists, we split the sample into sections, recreating the castings using the different elements of the casting available and then cast replicates of these to fit as the new railing sections.

As part of the refurbishment work, the worn-down steps leading to the main entrance were stripped back and replaced with reinforced concrete. We manufactured the metal balustrade for the staircase in a traditional style to tie in with the new cast iron railings.

We think you’ll agree that the finished result really adds to the period charm of the property, perfectly completing the front refurbishment by bringing the old back to life.

If you need any lost or damaged external metalwork replacing or would simply like to add an extra touch of class to a new or existing property, we are happy to help. There are a wide range of railing panel designs on offer in our cast iron store and we can custom produce full railing sections and balusters to suit.

To find out more, visit our railing section and request a quote – we look forward to helping you with your design!