Two Georgian districts north of Oxford Street
Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury sit side by side, with Tottenham Court Road running between them. Both are full of Georgian terraces, but they grew in different ways. That shows in their ironwork.
Fitzrovia’s set piece is Fitzroy Square. Its east side was designed by Robert Adam and built in the early 1790s, with a front of Portland stone. The south side followed in 1794 to the Adam brothers’ design. The north and west sides came in the late 1820s and 1830s, and the west side is faced in stucco rather than stone. So one square shows you two generations of Georgian building. Around it, the streets towards Charlotte Street are plainer brick terraces. Many now have restaurants or galleries at street level and flats above.
Bloomsbury is the work of the Bedford Estate. Bloomsbury Square was laid out in the early 1660s for the 4th Earl of Southampton, and it is the oldest of the group. Its garden is still enclosed by cast-iron railings, with gates at each corner. Bedford Square followed in the late 1770s. Its brick houses are listed Grade I, with Coade stone doorways and wrought-iron balconies on the first floor. Russell Square, Gordon Square and Tavistock Square carry the grid north towards Euston Road.
What the ironwork looks like here
The standard Bloomsbury front is calm. There is a basement area, which is the sunken yard between pavement and house, guarded by plain railings set into a stone kerb. The finials are simple spears or urns. Above that sits a light first-floor balcony, often running the width of the house. Bedford Square shows this pattern at its best.
Fitzroy Square is grander, and the railings there follow the stone fronts around the whole square. On the side streets of Fitzrovia, the ironwork is more mixed. You will see Georgian area railings beside later shopfronts and restaurant entrances, often on the same block of Charlotte Street.
Ironwork for homes and businesses
Area railings
We repair, extend and copy area railings, matching bar size, spacing and finial so new lengths read as part of the terrace. On a listed house this is nearly always the right approach.
Balconies
Bedford Square and its neighbours set the tone for Bloomsbury balconies. We make light Georgian balconies and balconettes sized to each window. On an external balcony the guarding must be at least 1100mm high, which we design into the pattern from the start.
Entrance canopies and restaurant ironwork
Charlotte Street and the lanes off it are one of central London’s best-known restaurant streets. We forge glazed entrance canopies, external railings and balustrades for stairs that lead down to basement dining rooms.
Heritage restoration
Where old railings survive on a Bloomsbury terrace, we repair them before we replace anything. Sound bars stay, and only the damaged sections are forged new.
The building work around the ironwork
Railings in Bloomsbury are usually leaded into a long stone kerb along the edge of the basement area. Over many years, rust swells inside the stone and cracks it. We lift the railings, repair the kerb and make good, then refix the iron. For a Charlotte Street restaurant, the same team can form the stair opening down to the basement and make good the walls around it. That keeps one team responsible for the whole front.
Planning and consent on both sides of Cleveland Street
Cleveland Street is the old boundary between Camden and the City of Westminster. East of it, Camden has the Bloomsbury, Fitzroy Square and Charlotte Street Conservation Areas. A conservation area is a district the council protects for its historic look. West of it, Fitzrovia sits in Westminster’s East Marylebone Conservation Area.
A large share of buildings here are listed, often with their railings. Changes to a listed building need listed building consent, which is permission from the council to alter a protected building. On Bedford Estate property, the estate’s own approval is usually needed as well. Please check with the right council before you commit. We supply measured drawings and a specification for your architect or agent.
Design, forging and installation
You can pick a pattern from our design album, which holds hundreds of proven designs, and we adapt it to your house. For a listed front or a restaurant canopy, we often draw a fully bespoke design in CAD instead. Nothing is forged until you approve the drawings.
Your ironwork is forged in our own workshop by a craftsman with 20 years of hand-forging experience. Our London team then installs it. Pavements here are narrow and busy, so we plan deliveries, bay suspensions and pedestrian protection ahead. For restaurants we can fit before opening time.
To talk about railings for a Bloomsbury terrace or a canopy for a Fitzrovia restaurant, request a quote with our short form, or call us.