Margate railings from the 19th century Sun Foundry in Alloa

The Sun Foundry was established in 1858 by George Smith in Glasgow.  It was an important company in the iron industry of the day, expanding quickly and moving to a larger site on Parliamentary Road in 1875.  They produced a range of excellent designs for gates, railings, bandstands, and ornamental fountains. One of the best examples of their architectural ironwork is their 30 foot tall fountain in Fountain Gardens, Paisley, complete with cast iron walruses and rocks.  Their work spread far and wide, all over the UK and abroad.

In 1896 Sun Foundry relocated to smaller Glasgow premises and closed in 1899, but in the meantime Smith had set up the Sun Foundry Alloa (in 1889).

The Margate metal railings in the top picture are clearly marked Alloa, so were from some time after 1889.  The ones above, still in Margate, may be a bit older as they are marked Glasgow.

A colourful note: Crayola went for this shade of green as one of their crayons in 1998, though the first recorded use of fern green as a colour name in English goes back to 1902.

Linked to Friday Greens

Copyright Debbie Smyth, 4 February 2016