Wrought Iron

Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%)

It usually contains less than 0.1 percent carbon and 1 or 2 percent slag.

Locally nicknamed "La dame de fer" (French for "Iron Lady") for its use of wrought iron, it was constructed as the centrepiece of the 1889 World's Fair, and to crown the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution.

Common characteristics include stuccoed walls, red tiled roofs, arched or circular windows, wood or wrought iron balconies with window grilles, and articulated door surrounds; keystones were occasionally employed, while ornamentation varied from simple to dramatic.

Most notably, the style features a lack of architectural moldings and the heavy use of carved or cast ornament, classically-derived columns, window grilles, and wrought iron or turned spindles reminiscent of Spanish colonial architecture in Mexico.

thick load-bearing walls made of masonry, as well as wrought iron floor beams

The hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning of Tamworth.

Building work took seven years and involved buying a local boatbuilder for the wooden doors and inlaid floors made of imported hardwoods, a local foundry for the wrought iron, and granite from a local quarry.