Interchangeable Door Knocker System

Dress your front door for all seasons

Most door knockers are fixed for life. Yours does not have to be. The Chameleon is one knocker with a head that lifts off and swaps in under two minutes, so the same door can wear a hare at Easter, a pumpkin at Halloween and a robin at Christmas.

You fit the backplate once. After that, changing the look is a single bolt and a new head. No re-drilling, no filler, no marks left on the door.

A Yorkshire Foundry knocker head being swapped on a front door

How the swap works

Three parts do the work. The backplate and receiver screw to your door and stay put. The head carries the knocker and hooks into the backplate. One bolt runs up through the head and locks the whole thing together.

To change the look, you loosen that one bolt, lift the old head away and drop the new one on. Under two minutes, honestly. The same backplate takes every head we make, so the heads you collect today still fit the same door in ten years.

What comes in the starter kit

Your first knocker arrives as a complete kit, ready to fit:

  • The backplate and receiver, ready to screw to the door
  • The knocker and its striker
  • One cast head of your choice
  • A wreath holder, so you can hang a wreath from the same fixing with no nails, screws or string
  • All the fixings, and instructions to fit it yourself

It all comes in packaging made from 100% recycled material. Additional heads are £99 and arrive as the head on its own, since they clip onto the backplate you already have.

Over 40 heads, and a service to design your own

The range runs from British wildlife and much-loved dog breeds to the seasonal favourites: a hare for Easter, a pumpkin for Halloween, a sugar skull for the Day of the Dead, a robin for Christmas. New designs are added through the year.

Want a head that is yours alone? Tell us the idea and we will turn it into a cast design. We know what casts well, so we may suggest a small change or two, and you sign off the design before anything is made. It has to be your own idea, nothing that copies someone else's work or would cause offence.

Browse all interchangeable heads

Cast to last: the 30-year guarantee

Every part is solid cast, not plated or hollow, so it will not flake or wear thin at the corners. We cast in aluminium bronze, the same copper alloy used for ship fittings that sit in seawater for decades. That is why we can put a 30-year guarantee on a knocker that lives outdoors in Yorkshire weather.

Yorkshire Foundry interchangeable door knocker heads

Questions people ask

Will it fit my door? I have UPVC.

Yes. If your door is solid enough to take house numbers, it will take our knocker. Nothing bolts right through the door. Five screws hold the backplate on, and that is all it needs. It works on timber, composite and UPVC doors.

How long does it really take to change the head?

Under two minutes. Loosen one bolt, swap the head, tighten the same bolt. That is the whole job.

Can someone just lift the head off my door?

No. A bolt runs through the head into the backplate, and the knocker hooks inside the head, so it will not come away by hand. Taking it off needs a tool. No knocker anywhere is impossible to remove, but this one does not budge with a tug.

How many heads are there, and can I add more later?

Over 40 designs, with more added through the year. Every head fits the same backplate, so you can start with one and build the collection whenever you like. Additional heads are £99 each.

Can you make a head to my own design?

Yes. Tell us your idea and we will turn it into a cast head. We know what casts well, so we may suggest a change or two, and you approve the design before we make it. It has to be your own idea, nothing that copies someone else's work or would cause offence. Start a custom head.

What are the dimensions?

A full knocker is roughly 22.2cm tall and 9.25cm wide (8.7in x 3.6in). The depth changes a little with each design, and every one fits a standard door.

Do you ship worldwide?

Yes, we ship worldwide from Yorkshire. These are solid cast pieces with real weight to them, so overseas postage is priced by the courier at checkout.

Will I have to pay customs or duty?

If you are ordering from outside the UK, your country may add import duty or tax when the parcel arrives. That is set by your local customs office, not by us, so we cannot say in advance what it will be. Our knockers are made in the UK and fall under tariff code 83024110 if you want to check the rate.

These are 3D printed. How are they handmade?

We only 3D print the wax pattern, because nothing else captures that much detail. The metal knocker is then cast by hand at a family foundry on the edge of the North York Moors, using lost-wax casting, one of the oldest methods there is.

Browse all interchangeable heads and find the design that suits your door.