The Ham Gate

A one-off commission for the Ham family, which is how it got its name. The design can be built again — under its name.

A double-leaf estate driveway gate with a sweeping ogee top rail, turned and knuckled balusters, and solid top and bottom panels set with cast quatrefoil rosettes. Hung between stacked-stone columns over a concrete drive.

The Ham Gate pairs a solid, private lower panel with an open upper field of turned balusters, so the gate reads as substantial from the road without walling off the view from the house. The ogee of the top rail is cut from plate rather than bent from bar, which is what keeps the sweep continuous across both leaves when they close.

Cast quatrefoil rosettes are set into the solid rails top and bottom, repeating at even intervals so the pattern resolves at the centre seam.

From the family it's named for

J & L Fabricators went above and beyond to create our custom driveway gates. They have a good eye for detail and worked quickly without sacrificing on quality. We have worked with them on past projects and will definitely choose them in the future. Thanks J&L!

The Hams · Website

13 photos

Every angle

Angled view of the Ham Gate at dusk, showing the S-curve of the top rail against the sky.

The Ham Gate seen from the side of the drive, stone column in the foreground and lawn beyond.

The Ham Gate from beside its stacked-stone column, the scrolled iron address plaque set into the stone in the foreground and the fleur-de-lis studs running along the top rail behind it.

Close view of the gate where it meets its stacked-stone column, the rosette-set lower band at eye level and the turned balusters running away to the far column.

The Ham Gate from the driveway approach, both leaves closed against a clouded sky.

Wide view of the closed Ham Gate across the full width of the concrete drive.

Another twilight view from the drive, both leaves closed and reading as a silhouette between the stone columns, with water lying in the pasture beyond the left column.

The gate's lower rail and baluster feet where they meet the concrete drive.

The Ham Gate under fabrication in the shop, one leaf upright on stands showing the curved top rail and rosette-set panels before finishing.

Detail of a cast quatrefoil rosette applied to the gate's solid steel panel, with the dark patina finish visible across the plate.

The design built again at another property, hung between brick piers topped with cast eagles and closed across a snow-covered drive, a scrolled iron name-and-number plaque set into each pier.

The design hung between pale stone columns on a bright autumn day, both leaves closed across a concrete drive, with a man in a dark hooded jacket standing behind the ironwork and a house and turning trees beyond.

Other work