Thousands of hand-crafted pieces make up giant metal dragon created on Exmoor

A UNIQUE sculptural metalwork project has been completed for a client by a West Somerset blacksmiths which involved creating by hand more than 2,500 individual steel dragon scales.

The scales adorn a 14 feet tall dragon sculpture which is now being fitted at the private client’s location in Devon.

The dragon took more than six months to be made by a team from award-winning West Country Blacksmiths, at Allerford Forge, on the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate, near Porlock.

The team was led by blacksmith Dominic Hesp, who designed the artwork, and involved producing thousands of individual components, including the scales.

The bespoke stainless steel dragon sits on a galvanised steel rock with an antique acid-etched finish.

A spokesperson said: “We are proud to share West Country Blacksmiths were commissioned to design and create this bespoke dragon sculpture for a long-standing client.

“Many local people and visitors have watched the artwork evolve through its many stages at our workshop before its completion and installation at its new home in Devon.

“This has been a truly unique and special project.”

The blacksmiths is owned by brothers Kieren and Kyle Roberts and was founded 13 years ago after the sudden closure of a forge where Kyle had been working.

It has gone on to win multiple awards with a wide ranging portfolio of work including a staircase for a client on the Isle of Man, railings for the Kensington Palace regeneration project in London and for the Pencarrow Estate, in Cornwall, and a commemorative bench in the Mansion House, Clifton, Bristol, for the Lord Mayor’s 800th anniversary.

The stone built village blacksmiths still has its original coal forge at its heart and dates to the 17th century and for hundreds of years has been an important part of life for many people across Exmoor and West Somerset.