Balcony panel

Object Type
This balcony has a curved front with three leaf-like panels. The main motif is based on the Greek anthemion ornament, adapted by Robert Adam (1728-1792) for casting in metal. According to the authors of A History of Cast Iron in Architecture (John Gloag and Derek Bridgewater), this was 'a far more inventive treatment of cast iron by Adam, than his normal habit of using decorative forms that were common alike to wood, plaster, stone or iron, and were interchangeable, deriving neither originality of form nor distinctive character from the material employed'. This design was used for the Adelphi in London, a massive luxury apartment and warehousing complex situated between the Strand and the River Thames, designed and built by the Adam brothers between 1768 and the late 1770s. Most of it was destroyed in 1936.

Materials & Making
Here Adam was obviously conscious of the properties and possibilities of cast iron as a new material . The Adam brothers took a particular interest in cast iron (the eldest of the four brothers, John, was a director of the Carron Iron Company from 1764), and their designs at the Adelphi did much to accelerate the popularity of this material. The fashion for cast-iron balconies caught on after the building of the Adelphi, and the pattern seen on this one became one of the most popular balcony panel designs in the country , copied not only in London but all over the country.

People
Robert Adam was a prolific designer, and through his association with the Carron Ironworks he acquired a good knowledge of the possibilities of cast iron. He often mixed it with wrought iron, brass and steel. Unfortunately, some of his best schemes were never carried out, such as his entrances to London's Hyde Park (1778). However, he left good examples of the use, or partial use, of cast iron in this kind of work in the gates at houses in Portman Square and the Adelphi.