Bay window curtain poles are our speciality.

Beautiful curtain poles designed to work properly

 We make strong, smooth working and beautiful bay window curtain poles for both angled and curved bay (bow) windows. Being hand-made from metal, these heavy duty poles are also inherently strong and stable and have a wonderful working action as the rings glide along the straights and bends effortlessly. Certainly a totally different experience when compared to the DIY slotted or articulated joint or bendy curtain rail type!

We can cater for just about any size, shape or number of bends a bay window may have. In fact, we have often made poles for customers that were beyond the skills of our competitors. If you’ve been told it can’t be done, try us!

Please browse the website to find a few examples of the thousands of bay poles we’ve made over the years .

…and do compare our quality and prices with our competitors. 🙂

25mm Curved Bay Curtain Pole, Plain Ball in Traditional Black

Bay window poles in more detail…

Below we try to offer the most detailed and comprehensive information available to help you choose the best solution for your Bay window dressing…

Measuring for your Bay window curtain pole…

Click on the appropriate drawing below to select your bay window shape and follow the instructions for the required measurements.  There’s a price calculator which will give you a very good idea of the cost too. Remember, these are just examples of the more common designs but we can make poles for just about any shape of bay with any number of bends.

Ceiling Fixed Curtain Poles

We also make ceiling mounted (ceiling fixed) bay window curtain poles. Often these are used for continuously curved bays or where the space above the window frames is limited, especially if the window frames go right up to the ceiling.

By default these would have a short drop (the distance from the ceiling to the pole) of 40mm for the above reasons, although the drop can always be increased if necessary by fixing an improvised spacer between the bracket plate and ceiling (e.g a short length of batten). Anyway if you are sure of the drop you require, we can always make the pole with brackets to your specifications; just ask…

If you have any particular requirements or need any advice just get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.

Below a 25mm Curved Bay pole using just three brackets (two wall, one ceiling). Uses standard double hoop rings.

“Hi Stephen,.. Just to say that we are really pleased with the curtain pole; it fits beautifully. I’ve attached a photo for you to see. Many thanks, Sharon & Donald”…April 2021

Poles suitable for TabTop or Eyelet curtains.

Depending on bay size and curtain weight*, we can make 25mm diameter bay window poles that only use three brackets instead of five. Also, these could be the answer if you’d rather use standard double hoop rings instead of passing rings with your curtains. We supply the poles in two sections.

*These are most suitable for bays with wall totals up to approx 3.5m.

Why choose our curtain poles?

Technically better …

We can make bay poles from either solid bar or tube, simple and complex, multi-angled, curved or combination. We can even make French bay window poles! Never bent to a drawing chalked on the workshop floor, these custom made bay window curtain poles are properly designed and validated  using AutoCAD. If you supply mm accurate measurements, we can supply a pole to fit within mm accuracy of those measurements. This way an exact fit is assured that runs level and parallel to the walls of the bay. The result is a quality, well engineered, beautiful bay window curtain pole. One that works as it should.

Not everyone making bay window curtain poles has the skill to bend tubing which is much harder to shape than solid bar.

A CAD drawing is created for every bay window curtain pole

And better value…

We achieve this through efficient manufacturing techniques.  Whilst still hand-made, and we do use the hammer and anvil where necessary, we don’t pretend to be using  out-dated, purely 17th century methods which would add absolutely nothing but huge cost and inaccuracy to the poles.
Every manufacturer that makes wrought iron bay curtain poles uses MIG, TIG or ARC welders in the process, as we do. We make things properly, carefully and efficiently with the benefit of years of production experience and are honest about our methods. Also, we don’t spend a fortune (in fact, nothing!) on professional branding and marketing ploys, so there’s none of those overheads to recover through higher pricing.

What you can expect…

(assuming you give us the correct measurements, of course!)

• The pole should keep the same offset around the bay and the distance from the walls should not vary. Variations in offset are especially apparent in badly made curved bay curtain poles.
• A bay window curtain pole should be as flat as a pancake, without twisting out of plane between bends or along a curve.
• Passing rings should not catch on the brackets or jump off the curtain pole if fitted properly to the curtains (see advice below).
• The curtain pole should be properly supported and not sag at the corners. It should be stable and not twist when the curtains move along it.
• The  bracket fixing plates should align properly.

Very happy customers…

“Installed thank you, looks good. I was just hoping my measurements were correct but all angles fitted perfectly. Hardest thing was getting the finial brackets to look at right level and pole wanted to be higher. All looks good, worth the investment thank you. Anne”…

( April 2023)

“Hi Stephen, Just a quick note to let you know that the pole is now fitted, and it looks fabulous. Emer asked that we send photos which are attached. Thanks for your hard work and precision. Regards, Bob“…

(October 2021)

Helpful curtain pole tips

How to Hang Curtains with Passing Rings.

Let’s face it, the now ubiquitous “Passing rings” are essentially to some degree, a compromise. The idea is to address the problem of preventing the (usually solid bar) pole from failing under the weight of the curtains by introducing “Passing” brackets to give the pole extra support. Unfortunately horror stories abound of rings jumping off poles or catching on brackets or corner joints. Many makers haven’t got it quite right with their passing ring systems (including the copycats!). Having said that, our unique design works very well indeed and has proven itself over many years, but to achieve the very best results, some provisos remain…

The curtain heading tape usually has three rows of pockets and strings. With curtain tracks, the hooks insert into the bottom or middle row of pockets so that the curtain heading hides the track. However, for curtain poles the hooks should insert into the top row of pockets so that the curtain hangs below the pole. This is especially important when using Passing rings.

Each Passing ring should bear enough curtain weight to stay in contact with the pole…

• Hang the curtains so that they’re ideally clear of the floor.
• Please make sure you space the rings accordingly. 

We can also make 25mm bay poles that just use three brackets and standard double hoop rings too (see above).

Maintenance

Every 6 months or so, pewter and black bay window curtain poles can benefit from a quick wipe on top. Just use a cloth lightly sprayed with a dry lubricant such as PTFE or silicone spray. You can buff beeswax poles lightly to avoid any dust build-up. A little plain furniture wax keeps the rings running smoothly.

Passing rings work best fitted above the curtain

What size are the curtain pole diameters?

Strong, elegant 16mm diameter solid bar

A bay pole formed from 16mm solid iron bar would usually use a five bracket passing ring system. This ensures proper support so that the pole does not sag at the corners. Allowing closer bends, the slimmer pole can create a more faithful fit to walls than larger diameters can achieve. This is especially true for more complex bays. The defined look of the 16mm diameter poles is in constant demand and remains ever popular. The thinner pole can also be more discrete when you want full attention on the curtains.

The size of bay window poles made from 16mm diameter solid bar can be up to 4m along the walls. This is due to carriage limitations. Black, Petwer or Beeswax finishes.
Please note: Curtain poles that have five brackets are for use with curtains using passing rings. These would not be suitable for a single pair of Tab-Top or Eyelet curtains. They could not cross the intermediate passing brackets.

We no longer make curved bay poles from 16mm bar but they are available in 25mm diameter.

Contemporary, chunky & rigid  25mm diameter tubing.

Looking for curtain poles with more emphasis? We also make 25 mm dia curtain poles for both Angled and Curved bays. We use tubing as heavy solid bar greater than 16mm diameter could put excessive strain on wall and ceiling fixings. The heavier the pole, the more it will sag under it’s own weight!

The 25mm poles are available in Black or Pewter finish. These are very strong and rigid poles. They can span a greater distance than solid bar without extra support. So, as mentioned above, these can be the answer for ringless curtains too.

Curtain poles made from 25mm diameter tubing can be created for Bay windows of any size. We make our curved bay poles from 25mm diameter tube.

25mm diameter Curved curtain pole with Ball & Collar finials.

Guaranteed to fit?

Of course!  If you’ve provided accurate wall measurements and all relevant information, it’s no more than your entitlement that the pole fits properly.

If you need any advice we’re very happy to discuss. Either email us here  or just give us a call on 01386 700299.