King's Staith Railings Phase 2

In July 2018, York Civic Trust completed a second, substantial, restoration to disused iron railings on King’s Staith. An earlier project had been completed in collaboration with York BID in 2017.

Completed paintwork to the restored railings, July 2018.

The structural integrity of the railings was in a very poor condition and local blacksmith Dave Barnes made repairs to the ironwork. These were in line with approved conservation practices and authorised by City of York Council.

The railings in a poor condition prior to City Enhancement works.

Kevin Spencer was contracted to repaint the section of railings in black and gold. Analysis to the paintwork found that lead had been present in the historic layers of paint.

The railings are applied with a primer before the final black and gold coats.

The railings may have been created by the nearby Walker Iron Foundry, as with other railings on King’s Staith, although the Trust has not been able to verify this. The railings are fixed into a stonewall that has subsided and caused movement to, and subsequent structural damage, to the ironwork.

Here, Dave Barnes taps a thread into the wrought iron bottom rail to enable a new cover plate to be affixed

The project was funded entirely by York Civic Trust’s City Enhancement fund and cost approximately £7,000 to fulfill. The project was managed by Nick Beilby on behalf of York Civic Trust and the Trust thanks all project members for their efforts in restoring the railings in a prominent waterside site.

The railings were restored in black and gold.