The 30-foot section of wrought-iron railings has been taken down by its owners for repair. James and Maureen Baxter, who live in Grands Vaux and rent out the Victoria Avenue property, are required as a condition of ownership to keep the railings in a good state of repair. Mr Baxter said: ‘The railings along the Avenue have to be kept in repair – a phrase which has different interpretations to different people, as you will see as you walk along there.’ He added that the railings were being repaired by Stephen Rylance at Rylance Ltd and that the work was expected to cost around £15,000. ‘They are saving as much as they can of the original work,’ he said. ‘The railings were put up in the 1890s and are quite a specialised item to make.’ Mr Rylance said that the work would include cleaning the granite below as well as repairing the ironwork. He explained that the wrought iron they use was often salvaged from old anchor chains and would arrive at his workshop in bars. These will then be worked into the ornamental shapes required.
The Heart of Island Life
