Historic Royal Ulster reform club Belfast – balcony restoration

Fine Iron were commissioned to carry out the restoration works for this highly decorative and very large wrought iron and cast iron balcony on the historic Royal Ulster Reform Club in Belfast, Ireland which was established in 1885.

Condition of ironwork

The balcony was in a serious state of disrepair with parts starting to fall away, becoming a danger to the busy street below. The only decision to be taken was for the entire structure to be removed and fully surveyed before producing a schedule of repairs and replacements where required.

The entire balcony structure was dismantled and elements carefully labelled on site before being shipped to our workshops in Wales. Here the ironwork was further disassembled prior to cleaning and priming.

Some of the very large cast iron supporting brackets were broken and, due to the quality of the cast iron and the structural purpose they performed, the decision was taken to have new bracket pattern equipment made and new brackets cast where required.

Final Result

Following the careful completion of restoration works, the newly refurbished and painted balcony was shipped back to Belfast where it was reinstalled and will hopefully serve the Royal Ulster Reform Club for another 100 years!