Firebacks

series

23 results

  1. 200

    baynards_park 01 jpg.jpg
    ?1870 x ?1020 mm

    Description: Composite; rectangular with semi-circular arches in middle (large) and ends (small) of top edge; rope on all edges except bottom; central panel effectively comprises an arched fireback form with Tudor royal arms (temp. Elizabeth I) with date above, and, below, letters G M, made from rope with fleur de lys terminals between two coronets surmounted by lions; below this are fronds with roses. On either side of this panel are placed the Anne Forster inscription panels; above each of these is a rose and crown with lion and dragon supporters, beneath which are three fleurs de lys. Along the base of the inscription panels and the central panel are single rows of ‘pineapple’ shapes, beneath which are repeated trailing vine decoration from impressed wooden strips across the entire width of the fireback; 35 in all.

    Notes: Formerly at Baynard's Park, Ewhurst, Surrey; GM probably refers to Sir George More, who built Baynards Park after buying the estate in 1587, and who moved to Loseley in 1604. The central coat of arms has been noted on two other firebacks, dated 1588 and 1595. The rose and crown stamps have been noted on a fireback in Haslemere Museum, and on examples illustrated by Lower (all of which bear the date 1582 and the initials IA). The association of these stamps and the particular form of rope lettering, with the Anne Forster inscription and the ‘pineapple’ shapes, both of which have been linked with other stamps from Pounsley furnace, suggests that they, too, were part of the stock of those works.

    Inscription: 15 93 / GM / HER : LIETH : ANE : FORST/ R : DAVGHTER : AND : / HEYR : TO : THOMAS : / GAYNSFORD : ESQVIER / DECEASED : XVIII : OF: / IANVARI : 1591 : LEAVYNG / BEHIND : HER II : SONES : / AND : V : DAVGHTERS [twice]

    Arms: Tudor royal

    Manufactured: in 1593 possibly at Pounsley Furnace, Framfield in the Weald area of England.

    Current location:.

    Citation: Hodgkinson, J. S., 2018, 'The Anne Forster Firebacks', Surrey Archaeological Collections, 101, 99-114.

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

    Citation: Manning, O. & Bray, W., 1809, History of Surrey Vol. II (London, John White), p. 369n.

  2. 852

    bridgewater_collection 06.jpg
    ?805 x ?590 mm

    Description: Rectangular; cyma recta (ogee) moulded edging (top and sides); fleur-de-lys stamp repeated three times across the upper part of the plate; a long pastry mould stamped between each pair of fleurs; above the central fleur, a small stamp, over-pressed, bearing FL below a coronet; above the right fleur, a small stamp, over-pressed, bearing a fish embowed.

    Notes: The food moulds are variations of others used in the same series.

    Inscription: FL

    Manufactured: in the mid to late 16th century possibly at Pounsley Furnace, Framfield in the Weald area of England.

    Current location:.

  3. 826

    burwash,_little broadhurst farm.jpg
    910 x 655 mm

    Description: Canted rectangular shape with moulded edging (top and sides) overlain by a length of twisted rope repeated six times; central vertical line formed of twisted rope, crossed with rope upper centre, with rope laid in a diamond pattern around the cross; lower centre, two irregular v-shapes formed of rope, one on each side of the vertical; shield shaped stamp with a fleur de lys repeated twice each side, upper left and right.

    Notes: The twin V arrangement may have apotropaic significance and the cross above them having a Christian symbolism; the base board appears to have had a moulded edge, with rope lengths applied over part of the moulding after the board had been pressed into the casting bed; a sketch of this fireback was made by J. Starkie Gardner c.1891 and is in his collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Archive of Art and Design (AAD/2014/8).

    Manufactured: in the late 16th century in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: in private hands, Burwash, East Sussex, England.

  4. 1070

    cardiff,_st fagans 18.jpg
    ? x ? mm

    Description: Rectangular; ovolo-moulded edging; two fleurs-de-lys arranged vertically top left and top right; top centre, date; below date, initials WEI in triad.

    Notes: Said to have been made by George White, iron founder, of Monmouth. Formerly from Newport, Monmouthshire.

    Inscription: 1668 / W E I [triad]

    Manufactured: in 1668 possibly at Tintern Furnace in the Forest of Dean area of Wales.

    Current location: National History Museum, St Fagans, Glamorgan, Wales.

    Museum number: 25.21 (part of the Welsh National History Museum museum group)

    Citation: Kissack, K., 2003, Monmouth and its Buildings (Almeley, Logaston Press).

  5. 845

    christies_24-05-01 458mm x 420mm.jpg
    458 x 420 mm

    Description: Canted rectangle; ovolo-moulded edging (top and sides); from top: double star stamp repeated four times; date between two triads of the same initials, the 'Y' and the 'N' reversed; stylised fleur-de-lys below each pair of initials, with a large hollow fleur-de-lys in the centre.

    Notes: The initials 'NYM' in triad probably relate to a couple whose surname initial was 'Y'; a fireback, dated 1659, with some of the same stamps is at the Dean Heritage Centre, Soudley, Gloucestershire, and another, dated 1667, has been noted at Upper End Farm, Hope Mansell, Herefordshire. Christie's auction, 24 May 2001.

    Inscription: NYM [triad] 1669 NYM [triad]

    Manufactured: in 1669 in the Forest of Dean area of England.

    Current location:.

  6. 1111

    crowborough,_luxford house 02.jpg
    615 x 610 mm

    Description: Arched shape; twisted rope edging (top and sides); top centre, over-pressed Tudor rose stamp on a square block; large diamond-shaped stamp with fleur-de-lys repeated each side below rose, both over-pressed.

    Notes: The diamond-shaped stamp has been seen on other firebacks; one of the stamps appears to have been repositioned twice before casting.

    Manufactured: in the mid to late 16th century in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: in private hands, Crowborough, East Sussex, England.

  7. 955

    crowther_01.jpg
    914 x 838 mm

    Description: Composite; canted arched rectangular shape; armorial fireback, cavetto edging, with Stuart Royal arms, garter, supporters, crown and motto, and 1620 date above crown; this overlies a canted rectangular plate, with twisted rope edging, fillet; two quasi-horizontal fillets from the tops of the vertical sides to the middle of the armorial fireback separate the back into two uneven parts, the date in the top part, split by the armorial, and a fleur-de-lys at the top of the lower part, also separated by the armorial.

    Notes: The use of the armorial back is seen frequently and probably dates from 1619, though the date is usually altered; in this case the alteration does not match the more prominent date for the fireback; photograph ex T. Crowther & Son Ltd, 1985.

    Inscription: 16 29 / HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE / 16 37 / DIEV ET MON DROIT

    Arms: English Stuart royal

    Manufactured: in 1637 possibly in the Forest of Dean area of England.

    Current location:.

  8. 45

    cuckfield,_fowlers.jpg
    870 x 555 mm

    Description: Rectangular; ovolo-moulded, gadrooned edging (top and sides); a vertical spindle or chair leg surmounted by a fleur-de-lys arranged three times; the date split by the middle fleur-de-lys.

    Notes: The fleur-de-lys is separately stamped from the spindle, and the same spindle is seen on another fireback of the same date.

    Inscription: 1641

    Manufactured: in 1641 possibly at Cuckfield Furnace in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: in private hands, Cuckfield, West Sussex, England.

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

  9. 1107

    dukes,_dorchester 7-9-18 lot 585 490x330a.jpg
    490 x 330 mm

    Description: Rectangular shape; ovolo edging (top and sides); top centre, date between two fleurs-de-lys; below, initials spaced apart.

    Notes: A small fireback, probably for an upstairs fireplace. Formerly at Cothay Manor, Wellington, Somerset. Auction: Duke's, Dorchester, 7 Sep 2018 lot 585.

    Inscription: 1626 / N M

    Manufactured: in 1626 in England.

    Current location: in private hands, Wigmore, Herefordshire, England.

  10. 99

    handcross,_nymans 05.jpg
    782 x 497 mm

    Description: Quasi-rectangular; twisted rope edging (top and sides); three gothic panels arranged horizontally, the centre one wider than the other two, each panel a symmetrical arrangement of tracery patterns with an inverted ogee arch on top incorporating two flowers; below are six, irregularly spaced fleurs-de-lys.

    Notes: The panels were probably derived from a dismantled wooden chest or hutch table, c.1500. Their gothic style belies the probable age of the fireback, such chests already being old when their parts might have been re-used. The same panels are on a fireback at East Grinstead Museum.

    Manufactured: in the early to mid 16th century in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: Nymans, Staplefield Road, Handcross, Slaugham, West Sussex, England.

    Museum number: NT/NYM/M/77 (part of the National Trust museum group)