Meet Paul Dennis, the 77-year-old blacksmith whose work has graced some of the most iconic buildings in the UK and beyond. From Windsor Castle and Westminster Abbey to the Tower of London, his creations have adorned royal palaces and protected the crown jewels. But Dennis's journey to this esteemed position was far from ordinary.
Born into a family of metalworkers, Dennis grew up on a farm in Wales, where he learned the art of blacksmithing from his father, a farrier. He began restoring cars and fixing engines at just 12 years old, and by the time he left school at 16, he knew he wanted to make a career in metalwork.
His big break came when he was hired to restore gates at Dyffryn Gardens, a Victorian county house outside Cardiff. This job, which took him just 17 years old, proved to be a turning point. He said, 'I made these gates – I was 17 and they're still there now. I thought, 'this is it, it's what I want to do.'
Dennis's talent soon caught the attention of Kensington Palace, where he was commissioned to create gates and railings separating the house from public gardens. He remembers a difference of opinion with the royal couple about the look. They didn't want metal flowers on the gates, but Dennis insisted on covering them in flowers, adding Yorkshire rose, Welsh daffodil, and Irish shamrock. He says, 'I put in Yorkshire rose, Welsh daffodil and Irish shamrock. There's crowns on the top and I put the wrong number of little dibbles, like diamonds, and they said, 'oh that means he's only an earl living here'. So I had to take the crowns back down and remake them to get the right number! I think it was 11.'
Dennis's work with the Royal Household and Historic Royal Palaces led to further commissions, including the restoration of Smithfield Market in the City of London and the creation of new gates for the Albany Mansions in Piccadilly. He also worked on the metalwork package for the Crown Jewels, a job that terrified him at the time.
Despite his success, Dennis has faced some hairy moments over the years. He has worked for the mafia, been threatened with death, and had to build stairs for the Microsoft headquarters in Seattle, which he then had to ship over there and hope it fits. But he remains enthusiastic about his work, saying, 'I didn't think I'd be doing this now - I'm 77 and I thought 'I'm not going to be doing this' and yet I can't stop. I'm as excited as I was in the 1960s.'
