[MassHistPres] Cemetery Fencing Project

[Young, Andrea]

Sarah,

The Hingham Historical Commission used Jeff Schiff, Schiff Architectural Detail, to manufacture the Hingham Centre Cemetery fence, which was also a chain link replacement.  Jeff made the pattern for the new fence from a very old, grainy photograph of the original fence.  The work had to be done in stages as funds (from CPA and other sources) became available.  The Historical Commission, the Hingham Centre Cemetery Corporation (all of Hingham's cemeteries are private) and the town in general, were extremely pleased with the quality of materials, the workmanship and customer service.  Schiff Architectural Detail just finished another great job for the Hingham Historical Society designing and manufacturing the railing on the staircase in front of Old Derby Academy.


The most important lesson learned from some unsuccessful fence projects in Hingham is that there are many variables in the fence manufacturing business, most of which the customer doesn't even know about.  There are a lot of ways to cut corners in materials and process, resulting in an inferior product.  It may take a few years, but the defects eventually show up.  Good luck getting the company that did the deed to fix the problem.