Antiguan Ironworks

The history of ironworking dates from the time of the Spanish conquest. It is mentioned in the Libro Viejo (Old Book) as well as the Cabilido (records from community meetings), which are still in the Colonial City Hall . During colonial times, the art of ironworking expanded and included teachers and apprentices, who eventually formed the blacksmiths and locksmiths union in 1672. The first blacksmiths were involved in the everyday tasks of forging nails, hinges, horseshoes, beds, balconies, carts, streetlights and other items. As they improved their techniques, they began to design other pieces, often embellished by each artisan's own seal. In the colonial period, iron was brought over to the New World in the form of short iron bars. These were joined to one another as the work required. At the juncture of the individual bars, a "knuckle" of iron would form. These can still be observed on some of the old balcony houses in Antigua . As with most of the ancestral hand crafts, today's teachers of the art of blacksmithing have learned their craft from earlier generations. Although they no longer make the same products as in yesteryear, they have evolved into the manufacturing of ornamental objects, each one with the personal touch of its maker.