I was asked by a local builder to design, make and fit (in collaboration with him) a set of 4 individual bespoke panels for a house he was renovating and extending for a client. The house was most likely Tudor in age and the work of adding the extension created a galleried walkway upstairs. This had wall panels removed to let in light from the new windows so I took inspiration from the way Tudor houses had windows before glazing was commonplace.
This most usually meant vertical square timbers were fitted in the window aperture to prevent unwanted entry, the square section timbers were fitted “on the arris” meaning the timbers were fitted in a diamond pattern in cross section. I took this idea and created the 4 panels, all of the steel was textured in the fire first, then tenons were forged at both ends of the vertical bars to enable a hot rivet assembly with the top and bottom rails. The centre vertical bar had a rope twist in the centre as a feature. The top and bottom rails were manufactured with effectively “square shanked nails” to be driven into the oak timbers either side of the opening. Once assembled the panels were finished in a hot wax finish as they were internal and the client favoured this to show off the texture of the material.
Gallery
