Architectural ironmongery or architectural hardware is a term used for the manufacture and

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. I ...

distribution of items made from

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

, steel,

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in AmE, American and CanE, Canadian English) is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately o ...

or other metals, including plastics, for use in all types of buildings. Architectural ironmongery includes

door handle A door handle or doorknob is a handle used to open or close a door. Door handles can be found on all types of doors including exterior doors of residential and commercial buildings, internal doors, cupboard doors and vehicle doors. There are many ...

s, closers, locks, cylinder pulls and hinges (

door furniture Door furniture ( British and Australian English) or door hardware (North American English) refers to any of the items that are attached to a door or a drawer to enhance its functionality or appearance. Design of door furniture is an issue t ...

), window fittings, cupboard fittings, iron railings,

handrail A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide safety or support. In Britain, handrails are referred to as banisters. Handrails are usually used to provide support for body or to hold clothings in a bathroom or ...

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

switches In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type ...

and sockets. The term is sometimes used to distinguish between these items and retail of

consumer goods A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike a intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good, but ...

sold in ironmongers' shops or

hardware stores Hardware stores (in a number of countries, "shops"), sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing su ...

History

Use of ironware in buildings has a long tradition, with local

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

s producing items for use in houses, churches and other buildings. During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, mass production of ironmongery became more widespread, though businesses often remained regionally focused. For example, in the UK, Laidlaw was founded in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in 1876;

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

-based Bennetts Ironmongery can trace its history back to 1734; William Tonks & Sons was established in Leeds in 1789; and Quiggins served the Victorian era

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

market. The West Midlands region saw several well-known businesses established: Parker Winder & Achurch started in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

in 1836, J Legge in Willenhall in 1881, and William Newton in Wolverhampton in 1750 (relocating to Birmingham in the 1820s). After the Second World War, the industry began to consolidate. For example, the Newton and Tonks businesses merged in 1970, acquired Legge in 1988 and Laidlaw in 1993, and were then taken over by Ingersoll Rand in 1997, and are today part of

Ingersoll Rand Ingersoll Rand is an American multinational company that provides flow creation and industrial products. The company was formed in February 2020 through the spinoff of the industrial segment of Ingersoll-Randplc (now known as Trane Technologies ...

Security Technologies. The Guild of Architectural Ironmongers was established in 1961 to promote standards in the business of architectural ironmongery. It manages an industry accreditation scheme, GuildMark, and runs an education programme, including a three-year diploma course and a Registered Architectural Ironmonger (RegAI) scheme.

References

External links

Guild of Architectural Ironmongers
Equipment Industrial history Building materials Metalworking Architectural elements Ironmongery {{Architecturalelement-stub