Established 1893 | BS 460:2002 Certified | UK & International Supply | Expert Technical Support | 0333 987 4452
Price range: £79.00 through £99.00 ex VAT (£94.80 – £118.80 inc VAT)
UK delivery from £30. Fittings are despatched boxed. See delivery rates.
The School Board Airbrick is a period-pattern cast iron ventilation grille based on the distinctive square-aperture grid design found widely on Victorian civic, institutional, and estate buildings. Its name derives from the late nineteenth-century school board buildings that made this pattern ubiquitous across urban Britain — plain, regular, and unmistakably of its era.
The grille face comprises a uniform grid of square openings set within a flat, slightly raised outer frame. There is no surface ornamentation beyond the geometry of the grid itself, giving the airbrick a clean, disciplined character appropriate for buildings where restraint was valued as much as function. Available in three sizes — 225mm × 75mm, 225mm × 150mm, and 225mm × 225mm — it covers the standard airbrick coursing widths used in Victorian and Edwardian brickwork. Cast in solid iron with drilled fixing lugs to each face, it seats flush into a standard airbrick cavity with no additional frame required.
The School Board pattern is appropriate for the full range of Victorian and Edwardian building types: school buildings, civic halls, estate cottages, terrace housing, warehouses, and institutional buildings where an unadorned but clearly period ventilation grille is the correct specification. It is also well suited to conservation area properties and listed buildings where the existing ventilation grille fabric is being replaced like-for-like, and to new heritage-style construction where period accuracy is required without decorative elaboration.
UK-cast in solid grey iron and supplied in your choice of finish. Suitable for through-wall ventilation, underfloor void ventilation, and air grille applications where an authentic Victorian pattern is required. For listed building projects or conservation specifications, call us to discuss suitability: 0333 987 4452.
Hopper heads are supplied in red oxide primer ready for on-site painting, or pre-finished in black. A full range of Heritage Colours in traditional linseed oil paint is also available on request — please contact us for the swatch chart.
Hopper heads are supplied in red oxide primer ready for on-site painting, or pre-finished in black. A full range of Heritage Colours in traditional linseed oil paint is also available on request — please contact us for the swatch chart.
Yes. Cast iron hopper heads are the historically correct choice for listed and period buildings, and a like-for-like cast iron replacement is generally accepted without objection by conservation officers. We manufacture to BS 460 for genuine heritage character and durability.
The Antique Black cast iron version is suitable for external use. The Polished Lacquered version is best suited to interiors or sheltered external locations where the polished finish will be protected from weathering. The Polished Brass version is suited to interior and semi-exposed locations. For external applications on exposed elevations, the Antique Black finish is the recommended specification.
The Brass Rooflight Hand Winder Opener – Telescopic is available in 150mm, 250mm, and 300mm sizes. The telescopic mechanism provides flexibility to accommodate varying rooflight positions and throw requirements. Throw: 165mm.
Hopper heads are supplied in red oxide primer ready for on-site painting, or pre-finished in black. A full range of Heritage Colours in traditional linseed oil paint is also available on request — please contact us for the swatch chart.
The H529 measures 430mm wide x 290mm deep x 540mm high, making it well suited to multi-storey Georgian and Victorian townhouses with a longer fall to the outlet.
The Polished Lacquered finish suits buildings where period ironwork was finished bright rather than painted — formal entrance elevations, listed properties, and settings where the grille contributes to the decorative programme of the facade. It is appropriate for conservation specifications and high-specification heritage new build.
Prices vary depending on size and finish. To get a quotation, please call 0333 987 4452 or use the contact form on the Tuscan Foundry website. The team can advise on the right specification for your project and provide a written quote.
The Calnethorpe is designed for formal classical and Georgian elevations where scale and material authenticity matter — large townhouses, country houses, manor houses, and institutional buildings. It is also widely specified for new-build heritage projects where cast iron rainwater goods are required to conservation standard.
