Ironwork refers to objects made from iron, especially decorative or structural pieces shaped by heating and hammering. When you see ornate railings on old staircases, fancy gates in front of historic buildings, or decorative window bars with curling patterns, you're looking at ironwork. The term also describes the craft of making these objects.

Before modern manufacturing, skilled craftspeople called blacksmiths created ironwork by heating iron until it glowed red-hot, then hammering it into shape on an anvil. They could twist it into spirals, flatten it into leaves, or bend it into complex curves. Many old buildings feature beautiful ironwork that has lasted for centuries: balconies in New Orleans, lampposts in London, and church hinges in medieval Europe.

Ironwork includes both decorative and structural forms. Bridges, building frames, and some reinforcement bars in concrete are all forms of structural ironwork. The Eiffel Tower in Paris is essentially an enormous piece of ironwork, with thousands of iron pieces held together by rivets.

Today, most ironwork is actually made from steel (a stronger iron alloy), but we still use the traditional term. Whether it's the elegant curlicues on a garden gate or the sturdy beams holding up a skyscraper, ironwork has helped shape the world we live in.