Door Furniture and Ironmongery

[Woody3]

We are having a new door on our early 18th Century Farmhouse, but have hit a bit of a snag in terms of the door and window furniture.

It will be a 5 board ledged and braced door (frameless).

Should the ironmongery be brass or black iron?

 

[Jellyfire]

Not sure if it's historically right for derbyshire, but I'd personally go for black. Most importantly I'd invest in the hand forged stuff, which is blackened in the manufacture process and then waxed, to give a nice dull charcoally colour, as opposed to a lot of the iron fittings available which are just painted black. I regret not spending a bit more on some of our fittings, which are beginning to flake and look a bit cheap and nasty, so I'm gradually replacing with better ones I should have bought to start with.

 

[MdB]

Not sure if it's historically right for derbyshire, but I'd personally go for black. Most importantly I'd invest in the hand forged stuff, which is blackened in the manufacture process and then waxed, to give a nice dull charcoally colour, as opposed to a lot of the iron fittings available which are just painted black. I regret not spending a bit more on some of our fittings, which are beginning to flake and look a bit cheap and nasty, so I'm gradually replacing with better ones I should have bought to start with.

Second this.

 

[Penners]

As Jellyfire said above, there is a regional element to this question - what is historically the norm for Derbyshire?

But there's also a status element. Was yours a high status house, a more modest artisan's dwelling or even a lowly shepherd's cottage?

Ultimately, though, it comes down to what you like. Assuming this is an internal door with no security requirements, you could even make yourself a wooden latch.

 

[biffvernon]

Did you see the original latch on the Austrian's hut that the Hairy Bikers visited?