The Ladbroke Association

The article below on sill irons was first published in the Autumn 2015 issue of Ladbroke News.

The Ladbroke estate has some magnificent Victorian ironwork in the form of railings and balconies.  There is one sort of ironwork, however, that is often over-looked, and that is sill irons or plant restrainers on window-sills, normally at first floor level. Many houses still have these and it is normal for houses in a terrace or a series of villas to have matching plant irons. Some of these are illustrated below.

Over the years, some of these plant irons have gone missing or been replaced by not particularly sightly modern ones. If people are undertaking work on their house, we would encourage the reinstatement of plant restrainers that match the pattern particular to that terrace or group of villas.