Firebacks

Ashburnham family firebacks

  1. 596

    ripley_002.jpg
    1070 x 880 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular shape with base plinth; astragal and fillet edging (top and sides) with overlapping leaf pattern; mirrored wave pattern on plinth; shield, supporters, motto scroll and coronet of the 1st Earl of Ashburnham; the arms are Ashburnham (quarterly Ashburnham, Holland, Kenn and Vaughan) impaling Barry.

    Notes: John, 1st Baron Ashburnham married Lady Jemima Grey in 1724, and was elevated to the Earldom in 1730. A sketch of an example 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).

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Arms: John, 1st Earl of Ashburnham

    Manufactured: in the early- to mid-18th century probably at Ashburnham Furnace in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: Mark Ripley Forge & Fireplaces, Northbridge Street, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, England.

    Citation: Denny, H., 1937, 'Iron Fire-back', Sussex Notes and Queries, 6, 6, p. 189.

  2. 597

    ripley_003.jpg
    1760 x 865 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular; ovolo edging (top and sides only); arms of the Barony of Ashburnham: (1st & 4th) gu. a fess between six mullets ar. (Ashburnham), (2nd) az. a lion rampant between eight fleurs de lys ar. (Holland), (3rd) erm. three crescents gu. (Kenn); on an escutcheon of pretence a chevron between three boys heads couped at the shoulders each entwined around the neck with a snake (Vaughan). Supporters: two greyhounds sa. their faces, breasts, and feet ar. collared and lined or; on either side of the arms is a winged cherub’s head; below each is a monogram of ‘B J’ beneath a baron’s coronet.

    Notes: The arms are those of John, 1st Baron Ashburnham (1656-1710), who married Bridget Vaughan, but the fireback dates from the time of his son, John, the 3rd Baron, created Earl in 1730.

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Inscription: LE ROY ET L’ESTAT / 17 13

    Arms: John, 1st Baron Ashburnham

    Manufactured: in 1713 probably at Ashburnham Furnace in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: Mark Ripley Forge & Fireplaces, Northbridge Street, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, England.

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

  3. 641

    ripley_061.jpg
    905 x 1060 mm

    Description: Rectangular with arched top; astragal moulded edging (top and sides); top centre, shield, supporters, coronet and motto of the 1st Baron Ashburnham: (1st & 4th) gu. a fess between six mullets ar. (Ashburnham), (2nd) az. a lion rampant between eight fleurs de lys ar. (Holland), (3rd) erm. three crescents gu. (Kenn); on an escutcheon of pretence a chevron between three boys heads couped at the shoulders each entwined around the neck with a snake (Vaughan). Supporters: two greyhounds sa. their faces, breasts, and feet ar. collared and lined or; below left and right, a monogram of B and J with a baron’s coronet above.

    Notes: John Ashburnham, who married Bridget Vaughan in 1677, was created baron in 1689. he died in 1710.

    Inscription: LE ROY ET L’ESTAT

    Arms: John, 1st Baron Ashburnham

    Manufactured: in the late-17th to early-18th century probably at Ashburnham Furnace in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: Mark Ripley Forge & Fireplaces, Northbridge Street, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, England.