Firebacks

Description: Carved wooden fireback pattern. Cavetto-canted rectangle with arch; ovolo-moulded edging; shield, garter, helm, mantling, crest, motto and supporters of William Cecil, 1st Lord Burghley, KG (1520-98). Date below garter.

Notes: William Cecil was Queen Elizabeth I's first minister. Owing to Lord Burghley's motto being merely painted and not carved, as the Garter motto is, the primary purpose of this armorial was probably decorative, and its role as a pattern for firebacks secondary.

Inscription: HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE / COR VNVM [ET] VIA VNA / 15 75

Arms: William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, KG

Description: Plain rectangle; no edging; top centre, date between two six-pointed stars.

Notes: Characteristic of the last firebacks cast at Ashburnham Furnace, Sussex. One of a small series of firebacks cast in the early-19th century for farms on the Ashburnham estate.

Inscription: * 1812 *

Description: Rectangular; twisted rope edging (top and sides); impression of the end of a firedog repeated three times, one upright in centre, two diagonally inverted with feet angled towards top centre; a large saltire of twisted rope in each top corner, a small saltire, of twisted rope and dowel, on either side of top of central firedog; cross of twisted rope below right hand corner saltire; lower centre, two angled rope lengths either side of central firedog. At the bottom, and outside the feet of the central firedog, two excrescences formed by the pouring of the metal.

Notes: A well-preserved example with an unusual arrangement of the firedog stamp; formerly (c.1886) in the Warbill-in-Tun inn, Warbleton, Sussex.

Description: Rectangular; no edging; arrangement of eight fleur de lys stamps formed of, at top centre, four in a cross shape, with two in line on each side; on each side of the cross arrangement is a naked standing putto stamp.

Notes: The putti are an unusual addition to what is a quite crudely decorated fireback

Description: Rectangular; overlapping laurel leaf edging with flange on right edge; top, seated figure of a monarch with a casket at his left side and the back of a throne behind; centre, bust of a classical male figure facing to the right, surrounded by a circlet of overlapping laurel leaves; bottom, ornamental pedestal on a legged stand, floral fronds issuing from the top, between two flower heads, and descending symmetrically to the bottom.

Notes: Not a fireback, but a left side fireplace back plate. It had a circular aperture in the centre into which, in this instance, a medallion and bust were inserted, the same being inserted into an elaborate baroque fireback (no. 452).

Description: Rectangular; twisted rope edging (top and sides); irregular arrangement of four stamps in three rows: face mask with ?crown and ruff (3), flower head with four petals and leaflets (4), fleur de lys (5), and profile of a head with 'Roman' crest (2); initials replace stamps in top corners.

Notes: A larger variant, undated and with other initials but the same four stamps, is also known.

Inscription: TBI I•A•1•6•1•8 / TA S

Description: Rectangular with ogee moulded edging (top and sides); symmetrically spaced along the top, initials, IMF, between split date in well-defined characters.

Notes: The initials are believed to be of John Meers Fagg, who owned Blackford Farm, Herstmonceux, at that date. Fagg purchased three firebacks from Heathfield Furnace, Sussex, in September 1758, costing £4 10s. 6d. They were cast by Thomas Cavie, who was paid a shilling a piece (East Sussex Record Office, Brighton, SAS-RF/15/3/35, f.22). At least one other fireback is known with some of the same character set.

Inscription: 17 IMF 58

Description: Rectangular; twisted rope edging (top and sides); top centre, crowned shield bearing initials, KH, above a fleur-de-lys, between a leopard passant guardant sinister (on the left) and a leopard passant (on the right); below the rear legs of each leopard, a fleur-de-lys, each inclined slightly outwards at the top; beneath, and slightly to the left of the shield a circular stamp bearing the letter C.

Notes: One of the legs of the leopard on the right is missing, suggesting that the stamps, which appear complete on many firebacks, were well used and had been damaged; this suggests a relatively late use of these stamps. The style of fleur-de-lys is one of two seen on this series of firebacks. The fireback was formerly at Marden Hill House, Tewin, Hertfordshire.

Inscription: C

Description: Rectangular; rope edging (top and sides); two central crowned Tudor shields, one above the other, each with lion passant guardant sinister to the left, and lion passant to right; crowned, barbed, four-petalled rose in right and left corners; two crowned shields with KH in Lombardic characters above a fleur de lys, each irregularly placed between lions on left and right sides; three 'imps' with right arm raised, two on right and one on left between lions; two ‘imps’ with both arms lowered, one on each side in similar positions.

Notes: One of the legs of the leopards on the right is missing, suggesting that the stamp, which appears complete on many firebacks, was well used and had been damaged; this suggests a relatively late use of these stamps. The same heraldic charges can be seen on other firebacks, with other charges, forming the decoration on many other firebacks, suggesting they were the stock of one particular furnace.

Arms: Tudor royal arms of England

Description: Rectangular shape; twisted rope edging (top and sides only); central initials, WS, in different character sets, between split date, also in different numeral sets, with a rectangular floral patera repeated at each end; below, and at a slight incline to the right, a horizontal twisted rope dividing the plate. The '5' of the date has been stamped in reverse.

Notes: A boldly cast fireback with disparate character styles. Probably acquired for the castle in the early-20th century during its refurbishment for Edward Hudson by Edwin Lutyens.

Inscription: 1 6 W S 7 5 [5 reversed]