Trantthorpe Cast Iron Hopper Head No.86

The Trantthorpe No.86 is unlike anything else we cast. Its upper body carries deep bands of raised studs — rows of heavy round bosses encircling the head — above a smooth conical taper that funnels to the outlet.

The studding reads as riveting, and that is precisely the association it carries: the language of structural ironwork, boilerplate and engineering rather than of domestic architecture. Cast deep and repeated in courses around the full circumference, it holds shadow from every angle and gives the casting a solidity that photographs particularly well.

That makes it a specialist choice, and a very good one on the right building. Industrial heritage conversions, mills and maltings, engine and pump houses, dock and railway architecture, breweries — buildings whose original ironwork was riveted and unapologetic. It also works on robust Romanesque and Norman Revival work, where the studding sits comfortably alongside chevron and billet ornament.

On a refined domestic elevation it would be entirely wrong, and a plain pattern is the correct specification.

Cast in solid iron to BS 460:2002, supplied in primer or black as standard, with heritage colours and traditional linseed oil finishes available on request.

Pipe connections: 65mm, 75mm and 100mm round; 75×75mm, 100×100mm and 125×125mm square; 100×75mm, 125×100mm and 150×125mm rectangular.

Suitable for listed buildings and conservation areas. Call 0333 987 4452 to discuss suitability for an industrial heritage scheme.