Metal fencing. Although common no less an ingenious idea, providing an effective barrier whilst allowing unlimited view as it does. I’m here referring to residential metal fencing not the commercial kind found around prisons, factories etc. I find metal fencing fascinating. The shapes that can be achieved! Not only in the design per se but also the details. There’s immense scope for creativity.
What do I mean with fencing? Well, there’s what most people think of – (usually) upright metal pickets topped with pointed heads of various designs and the accompanying supports/pillars. There are gates and stair rails. I’d also like to include metal work found around windows. And why not shop front shutters since I’m at it?
Metal fencing saw dawn during the Middle Ages when beautiful wrought iron screens and railings were forged to protect the sanctuaries and treasures of great cathedrals. During the Italian Renaissance wrought iron gates were used as important entrances and as clairvoyées to extend the view beyond enclosing walls.
It was not, however, until 17th century France when wrought iron became a grand feature. Predominantly because it was used extensively in garden design schemes by André Le Notre for king Louis XIV. It later spread to England and beyond and was used into the 18th and 19th centuries. With the arrival of inexpensive cast irod fences in the mid-19th century, the use of wrought iron virtually died out. These days there are all sorts of metals out there. Here are some designs that have caught my attention when out and about.
