Davies brothers of Bersham

The Davies brothers of Bersham were a family of smiths active during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries at Croes Foel forge in Bersham, near Wrexham in north Wales. They became associated with some of the finest surviving examples of decorative wrought iron in Wales and the English border counties. The family’s work was primarily architectural rather than commercial in the modern branded-product sense: it consisted of commissioned gates, screens, rails and related ironwork made for country houses, churches and estates. The principal figures were Hugh or Huw Davies, who died in 1702, and his sons Robert Davies and John Davies. Robert, born in 1675, and John, born in 1682, developed reputations as especially accomplished craftsmen and continued the family trade after their father’s death. Hugh’s will, dated 13 June 1702 and proved at St Asaph in 1703, left a house in Bersham to his wife Eleanor and subsequently to Robert, together with money and an instruction that Robert teach his younger brother Thomas the smith’s trade. The document provides direct evidence of the family’s workshop practice and the transmission of technical knowledge within the household. Robert is generally regarded as the most talented member of the family. Later accounts suggest that he may have studied under Jean Tijou, the influential French decorative ironworker active in England, although this association is not firmly established. The Davies brothers were also said to have worked with Robert Bakewell of Derby, another leading British wrought-iron craftsman. These possible connections place their work within a wider network of high-status architectural ironwork in Britain. The surviving corpus includes both securely documented commissions and works attributed to the family on stylistic or circumstantial grounds. Documented examples include gates at Chirk Castle dating from 1719; gates at St Giles’ Church, Wrexham, made by Robert in 1720; gates at St Peter’s Church, Ruthin, from 1727; the gate of Oswestry Parish Church, dated 1738; and gates made by Robert for Berwick House near Shrewsbury, which were in place by 1760 and were later moved to Newnham Paddox at Monks Kirby in Warwickshire. Other work has been associated with the family at Erddig Hall, Leeswood Hall, Eaton Hall, St Mary’s Church at Eccleston, Gwysaney Hall, Cholmondeley Castle, Hawkstone Hall and the former Carden Hall. The most celebrated attributed work is the White Gates and associated Black Gates at Leeswood Hall in Flintshire. The White Gates have been praised as among the finest examples of their type in Britain, with their attribution supported by distinctive fretwork patterns shared with other Davies designs. Art historian Nikolaus Pevsner characterized the brothers’ work in exceptionally admiring terms. Attribution remains qualified for several objects, however, and at least one former attribution has been revised: the main gates of St Oswald’s Church, Malpas, are now considered later work, although a smaller churchyard gate there is thought to have been made by Hugh Davies. The family’s historical importance rests on craftsmanship, surviving commissions and influence on the architectural landscape of the region rather than on a continuing corporate enterprise. The forge and the family’s working organization belonged to the pre-industrial craft economy, and the Davies brothers are no longer an active business. Their legacy survives in historic gates, church ironwork and estate structures, many of which have been relocated, altered or reassessed by later historians and conservation specialists.

The Davies family worked as smiths at Croes Foel forge in Bersham, near Wrexham, during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The family included Hugh or Huw Davies, who died in 1702, his sons Robert and John, two other sons named Huw and Thomas, and six daughters: Anne, Magdalen, Jane, Sarah, Elinor and Margaret. Robert, born in 1675, and John, born in 1682, became the most prominent craftsmen associated with the family. Hugh Davies’s will offers an unusually clear view of the family’s organization. Dated 13 June 1702 and proved at St Asaph in 1703, it provided for Hugh’s wife Eleanor and then Robert, while also directing Robert to train Thomas in the trade and technical practice of smithing. This indicates that the forge operated partly as a family training institution, with craft knowledge passed from one generation and sibling to another. Robert Davies is commonly viewed as the outstanding member of the family. He may have studied with Jean Tijou, a French wrought-iron specialist whose work had a major impact on English decorative ironwork, and the Davies brothers were also reportedly connected with Robert Bakewell of Derby. These possible relationships cannot be treated as fully documented, but they help explain the sophisticated character of the family’s surviving work. The brothers produced commissioned architectural ironwork for major estates and religious buildings. Robert’s documented commissions include gates at Chirk Castle in 1719, gates at St Giles’ Church in Wrexham in 1720, gates at St Peter’s Church in Ruthin in 1727 and the gate of Oswestry Parish Church in 1738. Gates made for Berwick House near Shrewsbury were in place by 1760 and were subsequently transferred to Newnham Paddox in Warwickshire. Hugh Davies is associated with late-seventeenth-century chancel gates and choir rails at St Giles’ Church. A larger group of gates is attributed to the family through stylistic comparison, documentary association or later historical tradition. These include the gates formerly at Stansty Park and now at Erddig Hall; the White and Black Gates at Leeswood Hall; the Golden Gates at Eaton Hall in Cheshire; gates at St Mary’s Church, Eccleston, formerly from Emral Hall; and gates at Gwysaney Hall, Cholmondeley Castle, Hawkstone Hall and the former Carden Hall. The White Gates at Leeswood are particularly important because their distinctive fretwork resembles patterns found in other designs associated with the family. They have consequently been described as an exceptional achievement in British wrought iron. Attribution is not uniform across the corpus. The principal gates of St Oswald’s Church, Malpas, once attributed to the brothers, are now regarded as later work, while a smaller gate in the churchyard is thought to be by their father Hugh. This history of reassessment demonstrates the difficulty of assigning unsigned eighteenth-century craftwork to individual smiths solely on stylistic grounds. The Davies brothers’ significance is therefore preserved through surviving objects and the documentary history of their commissions rather than through a continuing institution. Their work remains part of the architectural heritage of Wales and the English border region, where gates, screens and rails continue to show the level of decorative iron craftsmanship achieved by regional workshops before industrial production displaced much bespoke forge work.

• 1760

  Berwick House gates recorded in place

  [1]Davies brothers of Bershamen.wikipedia.org

  Gates made by Robert Davies for Berwick House near Shrewsbury are recorded as being in place by this year; they were later moved to Newnham Paddox.

• 1738

  Gate made for Oswestry Parish Church

  [1]Davies brothers of Bershamen.wikipedia.org

  A gate at Oswestry Parish Church is listed as a documented work by the Davies family.

• 1727

  Gates made for St Peter’s Church, Ruthin

  [1]Davies brothers of Bershamen.wikipedia.org

  Gates at St Peter’s Church in Ruthin are recorded among the family’s documented commissions.

• 1720

  Robert Davies makes gates for St Giles’ Church

  [1]Davies brothers of Bershamen.wikipedia.org

  Robert Davies is documented as the maker of gates at St Giles’ Church in Wrexham; other church ironwork there is attributed to Hugh Davies.

• 1719

  Gates made for Chirk Castle

  [1]Davies brothers of Bershamen.wikipedia.org

  Gates at Chirk Castle are identified as a documented work associated with the Davies family.

• 1702

  Hugh Davies dies and leaves evidence of the family trade

  [1]Davies brothers of Bershamen.wikipedia.org

  Hugh Davies’s will, dated 13 June 1702 and proved in 1703, leaves property and funds to his family and directs Robert Davies to train Thomas in smithing.

High-status architectural wrought iron distinguished by intricate fretwork, durable construction and commissions for churches, country houses and aristocratic estates.

• Architectural ironwork

  Decorative wrought-iron gates

  The family’s best-known work consists of ornamental gates commissioned for castles, country houses, churches and estate entrances. Their designs are associated with elaborate scrollwork and distinctive fretwork patterns. Examples are documented or attributed at Chirk Castle, St Giles’ Church in Wrexham, St Peter’s Church in Ruthin, Oswestry Parish Church, Leeswood Hall, Eaton Hall and several other historic sites.

• Ecclesiastical ironwork

  Church screens, chancel gates and choir rails

  Hugh and Robert Davies are associated with ironwork inside religious buildings as well as exterior gates. The surviving or attributed examples include late-seventeenth-century chancel gates and choir rails at St Giles’ Church, Wrexham, alongside later church gates at Ruthin, Oswestry, Eccleston and Malpas.

• Country-house ironwork

  Estate railings and ornamental ironwork

  The Davies workshop also produced or has been credited with railings and associated iron structures for country houses and landed estates. The surviving corpus includes work linked to Berwick House, Erddig Hall, Gwysaney Hall, Cholmondeley Castle, Hawkstone Hall and the former Carden Hall. Some pieces were later relocated or removed as estates were remodelled.

1. 1Davies brothers of Bershamen.wikipedia.org