Iron castings have been used in architectural designs for over 400 years. The Georgian and Victorian periods saw a surge in the use of cast iron for architectural projects, the high point being the late Victorian era. Everywhere you look in the towns, cities and villages of Great Britain you will see examples of the use of cast iron whether it be railings round a church yard, the parapet on a bridge or a cast iron lamp post.

Architectural Cast Iron & Architectural Iron Castings Projects - Click on one of the pictures to view the individual projects:

	Refurbishment of a Cast Iron Bridge Supply for replacement castings for the refurbishment of a Victorian Iron Bridge in Mytton-Le-Swale, North Yorkshire.
	Refurbishment of a Victorian Fountain in Hull Produce a set of castings of a Victorian cast iron fountain to be repaired and reassembled in Hull.
	Replacement Window frames for Dock Development in London Replacing a range of cast iron window frames to match the original Victorian designs in a warehouse development in London on the Thames.

The ability to cast complex and decorative shapes in cast iron has led to this diversity and modern architectural projects still use this material. The introduction of ductile cast iron in the late 50's opened up a whole new market for architectural castings as this new version of cast iron added mechanical properties close to mild steel to the existing properties of cast iron. This resulted in applications where strength and toughness were required, combined with the aesthetic appeal of cast iron. Call Durham Foundry on 0114 249 4977 to discuss your Architectural Castings & Architectural Cast Iron project.

At Durham Foundry we have been producing architectural iron castings for over a hundred years. As well as castings for the architectural market, our customer base also covers the engineering, decorative, and artistic sectors and we can supply castings from one off up to small to medium batch production using Alkali Phenolic resin bonded sands. Our workforce of highly skilled moulders can work from complex loose pattern equipment, particularly where low volumes are required, whilst our moulding line is suited for batch production.

Our long trading history, coupled with an investment programme that has enabled us to keep up with modern production methods and environmental legislation has meant that we have been involved with many architectural projects and continue to do so. All our architectural iron castings are produced to a current ISO specification, ISO 185 2005 for grey iron or ISO 1083 2004 for ductile iron, along with any further certification which a customer may require.

Our diverse customer base has also given us experience in a wide range of applications for iron castings beyond the architectural market, including pumps and valves, forges, foundries and rolling mills, automotive and aerospace, a wide range of OEMs, quarries and mines, railways and rolling stock, local authorities and artists and sculptors. We also have long term trading relationships with local pattern makers, machine shops and surface finishers which enable us to quote for the complete supply of machined and painted castings.

The range of architectural castings that Durham Foundry produces falls into two main categories. Firstly we produce castings for new projects. These can be modern designs working in conjunction with architects and designers or more traditional projects, often being replicas of existing pieces. Secondly we have been involved with the restoration of existing cast iron structures, such as a bridge, bandstand, greenhouse or large cast iron fireplace. In this case the existing structure is dismantled, castings that are in good condition are conserved and replacements made for any that require renewing. The castings are then cleaned, painted and re-assembled. Our involvement with this type of project has led to a long term relationship with Casting Repairs Ltd, Chesterfield, England who are a company that specialise in the dismantling and repair of old cast iron buildings and structures. Because of the historical nature of most of these projects we are used to working with organisations such as English Heritage to ensure that the work is carried out to the correct standard.

One problem that can occur, particularly when replacing old architectural castings is the question of pattern equipment. For all the castings we produce, we would normally require a wooden pattern to mould off. This is essentially a wooden replica of the casting that is required, constructed to suit our moulding processes. Often, the castings we need to replace have intricate detail on them which is expensive to reproduce in wood, usually involving the services of a wood carver. To solve this problem our highly skilled moulders can sometimes use an original casting as the pattern. It is not possible to do this in all cases and, because the moulding time will be higher that using a wooden pattern, does give a more expensive casting. However for small quantities of a suitable casting this can be more cost effective than making a pattern.

We are also happy to provide advice on the suitability of cast iron and ductile iron for architectural projects and arrange site meetings to discuss the restoration or repair of an existing structure or piece.

Please browse our website for more information about Durham Foundry and our ability to manufacture Architectural Castings & Architectural Cast Iron and then contact us on 0114 249 4977 or e-mail us on castings@durhamfoundry.com