Door & Window Fittings
Ironmongery is small, easily lost and disproportionately visible. This category covers suppliers and makers of door and window fittings for older buildings: casement stays and fasteners, sash lifts, pulleys, fasteners and weights, rim and mortice locks, butt and strap hinges, bolts, escutcheons and handles, in cast iron, brass, bronze and hand-forged steel. Some deal in original salvaged fittings, some produce accurate reproductions, and some make to pattern from a surviving example. Several also repair and refurbish existing ironmongery, which is usually preferable to replacing it.
What this category covers
- Casement stays, fasteners and hand-forged window furniture
- Sash pulleys, lifts, fasteners, weights, cords and chains
- Rim locks, mortice locks, latches, bolts and escutcheons
- Butt, strap and cranked hinges in iron, brass and bronze
- Copies made to pattern from surviving original fittings
Broughtons of Leicester Ltd
Broughtons of Leicester is an independent retailer of period-style lighting, ironmongery and ...
Clement Windows Group
Clement Windows Group designs, manufactures and installs steel windows, doors and screens ...
Old House Store – Traditional Materials for Modern Times
Old House Store is a specialist merchant for traditional and ecological building ...
The English Listed
English Listed, trading as The English Listed, combines listed building consultancy and ...
Choosing ironmongery for an old building
Repair the originals if they survive. Old ironmongery was made to be taken apart, and cleaning, freeing, re-pinning and refinishing usually costs less than good reproduction. It is also the only fitting guaranteed to suit the joinery it was made for.
Take a sample or a rubbing when ordering copies. Fixing centres, backset, spindle size and the depth of a mortice all vary, and a fitting that looks right but is dimensionally wrong means altering historic joinery to suit. Makers working to pattern want the original or an accurate template.
Match the metal and the finish to the building. Hand-forged steel, cast iron, brass and bronze each belong to particular periods and building types, and a polished brass suite on a vernacular cottage looks as wrong as black ironwork on a Regency townhouse. Unlacquered finishes weather; lacquered ones eventually flake.
Check what security and regulations require. Insurers often specify lock standards, and fire doors have their own hinge and closer requirements. On listed buildings these have to be reconciled with the historic joinery, and there are usually discreet options if raised early.
Questions to ask
Can original sash windows be made secure without changing the joinery?
Usually. Discreet sash stops, restrictors and dual screws can be fitted with minimal intervention and are generally acceptable on listed buildings, whereas surface-mounted modern locks are visually intrusive and often refused.
Where can I get a matching fitting for a missing casement fastener?
Several makers produce accurate reproductions of common patterns, and others will make to pattern from a surviving example on the same building. Salvage dealers also carry originals, though matching a full set from salvage takes time.
Does replacing ironmongery on a listed building need consent?
It can. Historic ironmongery is part of the listed fabric, and removing original fittings or cutting joinery for new ones usually requires consent. Like-for-like repair does not. Check with the conservation officer before ordering.
All 7 businesses listed under Door & Window Fittings
- Bramah Essex
- Broughtons of Leicester Ltd Leicestershire
- Clement Windows Group Surrey
- Inbrass – Edina Lock & Key Co Ltd Edinburgh
- Mid Beds Locksmiths (MBL) Bedfordshire
- Old House Store – Traditional Materials for Modern Times Berkshire
- The English Listed Cambridgeshire
Directory information is provided to help visitors identify potentially relevant specialists and suppliers. Inclusion does not constitute a recommendation, approval or guarantee by Tuscan Foundry Products. Please check current services, credentials, availability and suitability directly with each business.