More fancy filigree 4-sided forged fencing

Continuing from my last post about an unusual gatepost in Notting Hill, it's no surprise that I have since been scrutinising any similar forged railings and gateposts to see if they sport the same name. 

Whilst I haven't as yet found any more Yates/Haywood marks (calm down, it's only been a fortnight!) I have spotted some other lovely examples of fancy metal boundaries around Regents Park, in particular these beauties in St Andrews Close, a cul-de-sac adjacent to The Royal Society of Physicians:

Each of the four-sided posts tells us they were made by Peachey of Regent Street. There are more fancy railings just around the corner, on MaryleboneRd at the corner of Peto Place facing Gt Portland Street station – the plinths bear the name of May Morritt:

Having just looked in Kelly's 1841 street directory, John Peachey, ironmonger, is listed at 69 Regent Street along The Quadrant here but not within that actual building, the street having been rebuilt in the early twentieth century. Peachey's neighbours included a wine merchant, a carver and gilder, a hatter, a wax chandler and another ironmonger at No. 77 in the name of Thomas Wilkinson. 

It occurs to me as I write this that I have never seen the names of Peachey or Wilkinson on any coal hole covers (ditto Yates/Haywood) which suggests, due to their rather posh addresses, that these two businesses targeted the upper classes, offering bespoke decorative ironmongery for expensive properties, rather than functional items used by the staff, such as tools, coal scuttles and cover plates. 

It's a similar story with May Morritt of 66 Oxford St which is also long gone. Their ironmongery shop, later No.140 when the street was renumbered, was three doors west of Wells Street, adjacent to Adam & Eve Court. The block has been redeveloped many times and is currently a construction site (again) – here's a streetview link to when it was a Burton/TopShop. I am assuming this was was two men, Mr May and Mr Morritt. theirs was also not the only shop of its kind in the immediate vicinity. A few doors along at No.79 there was Mr Robert Parkinson, ironmonger, and White & Sons were on the opposite side of the street at this time, to name just two more examples. As you can see in that last link I've found a few different coal hole cover bearing the name of White & Sons, or similar, theirs being a shop selling all sorts of household requisites, but no covers as yet found showing May, Morritt or Robinson. 

It seems odd to us today to think that shops selling ironmongery of any kind would have been located on major shopping streets that today are known for selling mostly clothes, accessories and coffee, Indeed, by the early 1880s this had already become the case with almost all of the shops along these main thoroughfares offering more personal items such as shoes, dresses, tailoring, tobacco and jewellery.

I'll keep looking for more fancy filigree. You know I will.  

This post can also be found on my Janeslondon Substack