ABOUT US

BACKGROUND

There are a great many examples of historic wrought ironwork in the Britain. Many of them exhibit a mastery of design, and superb craftsmanship in their execution by the blacksmith, and in fact are accepted as works of art of national importance. Strange then, that there is no mechanism to ensure that when work has to be done, the people who do it are in some way qualified in the skills of the smith.

Many experienced working smiths will have been offered restoration work on precious ancient ironwork. They become familiar with the damage unskilled hands can do. In 1980 part of the Golden Gates at Chatsworth had to be restored after vehicle damage; ironwork nearly three hundred years old. Every joint had previously been electrically welded in recent years, and the vast majority of the work was in putting this right, rather than repairing the weathering of three centuries.

Commissioners' Yard Gates.

The same work faithfully redone in 2009 to the same design and level of craftsmanship as the original. Note the care in the shaping of the scrollwork with fire welded branch joints and authentic waterleaves and tapered snub ends.

We live in a world where the selection of candidates for restoration work is generally done on the basis of least cost; and in the absence of any restriction concerning those who tender for the work, and as good work is inevitably dearer in first cost than poor work, there can be no place in the market for the smith who has taken the trouble to achieve a high standard.

There is a pressing need to guarantee that tender lists for restoration work are comprised of people who are evenly matched in terms of mastery of the medium, so that least cost does not mean least skilled.  In other conservation disciplines people are expected to prove themselves by achieving some kind of accreditation. Surely the care of important historical works of the blacksmith’s art deserves no less?

NHIG hope to be able to enable smiths to qualify for such schemes, and in order to achieve this we must first gain a recognition that the field of the heritage blacksmith is distinct from the general run of metalwork. There is a need for courses and for qualifications for smiths, but further, there is demand from the specifiers, the architects and the surveyors, who wish to be better informed about heritage ironwork, to enable them to recognise good and bad practice, and build specifications for the work which will guarantee best practice.   

First of all, NHIG has been set up in the hope that it can become a focal point for the establishment of - and in time the enforcement of - a set of standards which would be widely accepted by practitioners, owners and those who fund conservation/restoration work. 

WHO WE ARE

The National Heritage Ironwork Group consists of blacksmiths, training providers, conservator/restorers, conservation architects, metalwork consultants & commissioning bodies who recognised the need to improve the standards of the restoration/conservation of ornamental ironwork. Together our collective expertise is used to achieve our aims in discussion, formalisation, lobbying and distribution of information. 

NHIG Council

HOW WE OPERATE

The NHIG is managed by its council which is made up people who have a deep routed interest in the care of our ironwork heritage including; blacksmiths, training providers, conservator/restorers, conservation architects, metalwork consultants & commissioning bodies, who recognise the need to improve the standards of the restoration/conservation of ornamental ironwork. The council’s collective expertise is used to achieve our aims in discussion, formalisation, lobbying and distribution of information. 

NHIG works by establishing small working groups, who report back to the NHIG council, consisting of trade representatives and professional specialists as appropriate to each of their projects whose task it is to research and develop discussion documents. These documents are then used as the basis for consultation with the heritage sector in order to identify, evaluate and develop each of our projects. Consultation primarily takes place at forums for which the working group organises the programme. Forums are open to all interested parties who wish to come and have their views heard, and a programme for each is published on our website and advertised within both the blacksmithing and heritage sectors. Minutes of each consultation are taken and issued on our website and are sent to all attendees and the NHIG mailing list.

Following any specific consultation event the working group will review and develop the discussion document as appropriate, from here further rounds of consultation may be organised as suitable. In addition we actively seek recognised peer reviews of our work from within the heritage sector, prior to acceptance of the final document, in order that our proposals can be supported and endorsed by the heritage sector as a whole.

As part of NHIG’s overall consultation work it also publishes information about its activities (through articles, press releases and newsletters) in order to both inform the sector and to invite comments and opinions on its work. In addition NHIG have sought direct contact with representatives from other heritage groups in order that they are kept up to date directly.

In this way NHIG aims to work with the sector in order to achieve its aims and objectives. Of particular note NHIG have liaised with English Heritage and the National Trust in order that they have the opportunity to comment and provide guidance in an objective manner on our work As such NHIG’s ambition is to make sure our work is both an accurate representation of the conservation sector as a whole while being aligned with existing legislation and guidance.

SUPPORTERS

NHIG relies on its registered supporters to demonstrate that we are not alone in our views. Our intention is to use this list to gain further backing and endorsement.

Well-known supporters include.

• English Heritage
• National Trust
• Historic Royal Palaces
• Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
  
• Historic Houses Association
• Institute for Historic Building Conservation
• British Artist Blacksmith Association

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FUNDING

Heritage Blacksmith Bursary by:

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