Firebacks

Description: Flattened arched rectangular shape; cavetto moulded edge all round; armorial; arms of Browne family of Brenchley, Kent: Gules, a griffin passant or, a chief of the second; Crest: a vulture proper, wings endorsed, displuming a mallard’s wings.

Notes: John Browne, gunfounder, was granted arms in 1626. His principal furnace was in Brenchley parish, Kent. The royal gunfounder 1615-51, he petitioned the Crown for a monopoly of casting firebacks in 1633.

Copies of this fireback are known.

Arms: Browne of Brenchley (John Browne)

Description: Rectangular; astragal and fillet edging; oval shield of the Paulet family (sable three swords, points conjoined in pile), within a cartouche, surmounted by a marquis’s coronet; date split between bottom corners.

Notes: The arms of Charles Paulet, 6th Marquess of Winchester, who succeeded to the title in 1674 and was created Duke of Bolton in 1689. The fireback is reported to have come from Grange Farm, Basing House, Hampshire; Basing House was the seat of the Paulets.

Copies of this fireback are known.

Inscription: 16 87

Arms: Charles Paulet, 6th Marquess of Winchester

Description: Cavetto canted arched rectangle; astragal edging; oval inscription surrounding a central battlemented shield bearing an open book, with a baronet's escutcheon above; above, a helm with a crest of an arm and hand holding a wreath; on each side, a druid supporter holding a harp, each upon a horizontal fillet; below, intertwined bell flowers behind a tripartite motto scroll.

Notes: The motto appears to have been incorrectly spelled; the Conroy baronetcy was created for Sir John Conroy, comptroller of the household of the Duchess of Kent, and much hated by her daughter, Princess (later Queen) Victoria; the 3rd (and last) baronet succeeded to the title in 1869.

Inscription: FIDELITER ET CONSTANTER [Faithfully and constantly] / L'ANTIQIVITE NE PEVX PAS L'ABOLIR [Antiquity cannot abolish it]

Arms: Conroy, baronet, of Llanbrynmair (Sir John Conroy, 3rd baronet, 1845-1900)

Description: Arched shape; fillet edging; shield, supporters, earl's coronet and motto.

Notes: The arms are those of William Herbert (1626-96), created 1st Earl of Powis in 1674, impaled with those of his wife, Lady Elizabeth Somerset, whom he had married in 1654. He was created Marquess in 1687, so the fireback dates from between 1674 and 1687. The blazon: Party per pale azure and gules three lions rampant argent armed and langued or (Herbert), quarterly 1st and 4th England 2nd and 3rd France Modern (Somerset); Supporters: Dexter: A Panther rampant guardant Argent spotted of various colours fire issuing out of the mouth and ears ducally gorged Azure; Sinister: A Lion rampant Argent ducally gorged Gules; Motto: Ung je serviray (One I will serve).

Inscription: Ung iay serviray

Arms: William Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis

Description: Rectangular; triple-fillet moulded edging formed of lengths of carved wood (top and upper seven-eights of sides only); stamp formed of an elliptical shield enclosed within an elliptical border of 23 beads, all mounted on a rectangular block, repeated eight times symmetrically 3-2-3.

Notes: This is a rare example of elliptical arms on a fireback; in each instance the stamp has been over-pressed so that the block on which it was carved has appeared in relief.

Arms: not known

Description: Rectangular with an arched rectangular style arch linked by symmetrical cyma curves; double moulded edges except on the base; the date, 1720, in characteristic lettering of the early 18th century, bisected by a shield and crest formed from the impression of a carved wooden stamp. The arms are probably those of a branch of the Harvey family: a chevron (gules) between three bear’s gambs erased and erect armed (ermines).

Notes: The Harvey family of Eythorne, Kent, bore similar, but not identical arms, differenced by the addition of three crescents on the chevron. There are stylistic similarities between this fireback and two firebacks bearing the arms of the Duke of Dorset at Knole, which are probably of similar date, suggesting that they could be products of the same furnace.

Inscription: 17 20

Arms: Harvey of Eythorne, Kent (variant)

Description: Rectangular; simulated twisted rope edging with a gap, top centre; centre, shield, baron's coronet, supporters and crest; in each top corner, heraldic badge - a Sea Lion holding an anchor.

Notes: The arms are of Sir Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, Bt., 1st Baron Devonport (1856-1934); created 1910, he was elevated to Viscount in 1917, thus the fireback would have been cast between 1910 and 1917. Blazon: Azure in chief two Mitres Argent garnished Or and in base a Square Tower of the second, a baronet's badge in chief; Supporters: On either side a Sea Lion Argent crined finned and tufted Or each gorged with a Collar Gules charged with three Roses of the second and each supporting a Spear erect proper; Crest: An Ancient Ship Or the Mainsail Azure charged with a Sea Lion of the first; Motto: Fit Via Vi (The way is made through strength). A version with the same arms and badges has an arched rectangular shape and plain edging.

Inscription: FIT VIA VI

Arms: Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, 1st Baron Devonport (later 1st Viscount)

Description: Rectangular with arched rectangular shaped top joined by cavetto curves; astragal edging; shield, supporters, ducal coronet, motto and garter of the Duke of Dorset: Quarterly, Or and gules, a bend vair.

Notes: Almost certainly the arms of Lionel Sackville KG (1688-1765), created first duke of Dorset in 1720; many different firebacks exist, all with precisely the same armorial stamp.

Inscription: [around shield] HONY SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE / [on motto scroll] AUT NUNQUAM TENTES, AUT PERFICE

Arms: Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset

Description: Rectangular; twisted rope edging; top centre, quartered shield between four 'imp' figures, left facing, one with right arm raised, one of each on each side; below each pair of figures, a rope cross above an inverted V in rope, with an 'imp' figure, arms lowered, below the shield; along the bottom, eight 'imp' figures, alternately arms raised and lowered.

Notes: The 'imp' figures are common on a group of firebacks, the rope designs having a probable apotropaic significance. The arms are probably of Thomas Wriothesley, who was Henry VIII's last Lord Chancellor and created Earl of Southampton in 1547; he married c.1533 so the arms could date to before then, but the same arms are displayed on his enamelled stall plate in St George's Chapel, Windsor, of 1545, and in stained glass in a window in the parish church at South Warnborough, Hampshire. The shield is, quarterly, 1. Wrythe or Wriothesley quartering Dunstanville and Pink, 2. Drayton, 3. Crocker and 4. Peckham. The same armorial stamp has been noted on at least two other firebacks. A candidate for the earliest English fireback with an example of personal arms.

Arms: Wriothesley (Earl of Southampton)

Description: Quasi-rectangular with canted top corners; twisted rope edging (top and sides); centre top, quartered shield between two vertical carved stamps of a billet with five oval shapes.

Notes: The arms are probably of Thomas Wriothesley, who was Henry VIII's last Lord Chancellor and created Earl of Southampton in 1547; he married c.1533 so the arms could date to before then, but the same arms are displayed on his enamelled stall plate in St George's Chapel, Windsor, of 1545, and in stained glass in a window in the parish church at South Warnborough, Hampshire. The shield is, quarterly, 1. Wrythe or Wriothesley quartering Dunstanville and Pink, 2. Drayton, 3. Crocker and 4. Peckham. A candidate for the earliest English fireback with an example of personal arms. It is possible that this casting is the one formerly at Warnham Court, Sussex, which was illustrated by J. Starkie Gardner in Country Life in 1907. A similar fireback is no. 334. William Smith Auctions, Plainfield, NH, 20 Nov 2024, lot 424 ($250).

Arms: Wriothesley (Earl of Southampton)