Wrought Iron Fence Facts

Wrought iron continues to stand the test of time as an iconic fence material selection. It has been around for ages and offers a way to customize that makes it stand out as a special fencing material. Check out some old-school facts about this still popular fencing option.

In the beginning: The handcrafted art of creating wrought iron has its origins way back in the 12 century. The smelting process, extracting metal from ore, allowed the original blacksmiths to access and use more of the metal. “Wrought” is actually the old form of the past tense of work as blacksmiths had to work the iron to create shapes and forge the pieces. You would find a lot of wrought iron around castles and palaces in the Medieval times in Europe. No two pieces were alike as it was a more complicated process by hand.

Industrial Revolution: Production of iron increased at smelting and forging changed with coal replacing wood for extracting the ore and a new tool being introduced. While most of the process was still completed by hand, rolling came into play, which had iron ore bars piled and reheated to be rolled out into more uniform pieces.

In the States: The Colonists brought wrought iron fencing to the US, but the process was expensive, so typically only wealthier families had it in place on their properties. As blacksmithing became more prevalent, the cost went down and wrought iron was more commonly used. Wrought iron fencing was more elaborate as the Victorian era rolled in. The artistic side of wrought iron truly made its way to the top of the artform as details such as scrolls and finials were crafted. This time period is when the traditional look of wrought iron was developed and still stands the test of time today.

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