Firebacks

  1. 288

    faversham,_davington priory.jpg
    675 x 710 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular with plain edges; arched rectangular inset with cavetto edging and armorial design in low relief: circular garter enclosing an ornate Tudor royal shield, surmounted by a crown; date inside top of arch; initials inside top corners of rectangle; a rose in each bottom corner of rectangle; inscription in a separate rectangular panel below, split by garter buckle.

    Notes: The earliest dated fireback in the English style. Molland was a Devon manor belonging to the Courtenay family. Noted as having been at Wells Deanery, Somerset, in 1845; a variant without the motto, the existence of which was noted in 1840, was illustrated by Llewellin (1863). The west country source for both of these firebacks offers the possibility of an origin in those parts.

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Inscription: 1553 / E R / HONV SOIT QVY MALE V PENCE / MOL LAND

    Arms: Tudor royal - Edward VI

    Manufactured: in 1553 .

    Current location: Davington Priory, Priory Road, Faversham, Kent, England.

    Citation: Collier, C. V., 1897, 'Coats of Arms in Kent Churches', Archaeologia Cantiana, 22, pp. 190-1.

    Citation: Hodgkinson, J. S., 2010, British Cast-Iron Firebacks of the 16th to Mid-18th Centuries (Crawley, Hodgers Books).

    Citation: Llewellin, W., 1863, 'Sussex Ironmasters in Glamorganshire', Archaeologia Cambrensis, 3rd ser., 9, pp. 89-91.