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665
Description: Rectangular; twisted rope edging on top and sides; fillet-edged rectangle top centre, enclosing date between initials; 14 shields of Ayloffe impaling Sulyard in three rows (5-4-5).
Notes: Ayloffe: sable, a lion rampant Or, collared gules, between three crosses formy of the second; Sulyard: argent, a chevron gules between three pheons inverted sable. William Ayloffe (c1535-1584) of Hornchurch, Essex, Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench, married (c1560) Jane, dau. of Sir Eustace Sulyard, of Runwell, Essex. There is a large number of variants using the same shields. The bottom part of the fireback is obscured in the photograph. The initials 'CT' are likely to be those of Charles Tyler, a founder whose working life and that of his family have strong parallels with the occurrence of these firebacks.
Inscription: C 1603 T
Arms: Ayloffe impaling Sulyard (William Ayloffe of Hornchurch)
- Decoration tags:
- rectangular (shape)
- rope (edging)
- carved stamps
- armorial
- text
Manufactured: in 1603 in the Weald area of England.
Current location: in private hands, Rolvenden, Kent, England.
- Attached to series:
- Ayloffe series
- Personal armorial firebacks
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669
Description: Rectangular; reversed cavetto-moulded edge on top and sides; pictorial scene depicting Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac; Abraham is on the left, holding the top of Isaac’s head with his left hand, his right hand holding a sword; in the middle stands a pyre; above and to the right an angel emerges from the clouds, while below a ram stands beside a bush; the inscription is above and to the left.
Notes: The scene is drawn from Genesis 22: 11; And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham”: and he said, “Here am I”. The subject and the naïve figuration is similar to a fireback incorporating two other Old Testament scenes.
Inscription: ABRAHAM ABRAHAM [Genesis 22: 11]
- Decoration tags:
- rectangular (shape)
- reversed cavetto (edging)
- whole carved pattern
- pictorial
- biblical
- architectural
- text
- humans
- plants
Manufactured: in the early to mid 17th century possibly at Brede furnace in the Weald area of England.
Current location: Rottingdean Grange, Rottingdean, East Sussex, England.
(part of the Rottingdean Preservation Society museum group)
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1010
Description: Rectangular with ovolo-moulded edging; central oval shield of England (quarterly France modern and England) surrounded by the Garter with the additional word 'IL', and supported by a dragon on the dexter side and a greyhound on the sinister side, each standing on a plinth; to each side of the armorial group is a column with the upper part of the shaft fluted and the lower part foliate; each has an Ionic capital and a moulded pedestal; fire issues from the top of the capital.
Notes: The style of carving is not typical of English design but is similar to other firebacks bearing Tudor armorials that were probably cast in Germany.
Inscription: HONI SOIT IL QVI MAL Y PENSE
Arms: English royal Tudor (prob. Henry VIII)
- Decoration tags:
- rectangular (shape)
- ovolo (edging)
- whole carved pattern
- armorial
- royal
Manufactured: in the mid 16th century possibly in the Eifel area of Germany.
Current location: in private hands, Butleigh, Somerset, England.
Citation: Carpentier, H., 1912, Plaques de Cheminées, Paris.
- Attached to series:
- Tudor royal armorial firebacks
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1099
Description: Rectangular shape; ovolo-moulded edging; raised central rectangular panel with inset stylised design of a rounded arch upon Ionic columns, the inside edge indented; at quarter angles outside the arch, two trefoils; within the arch, sequence of linked hollow strapwork rhomboids and circles; between the columns, a roundel with the internal edge indented; left of the central panel, 16 above upper-case M in low relief; right of the central panel, 56 above upper-case G in low relief.
Notes: An unusually small but well-preserved back with a stylised design. The style of the numerals, particularly the 6 and 5, can be seen on a larger fireback of 1653.
Inscription: 16 56 / M G
- Decoration tags:
- rectangular (shape)
- ovolo (edging)
- carved stamps
- whole carved pattern
- individual letters
- individual numbers
- architectural
- text
Manufactured: in 1656 in the Weald area of England.
Current location: Avery Way, Tamar View Industrial Estate, Saltash, Cornwall, England.
- Attached to series:
- Date & initials firebacks
- 1650s Wealden series
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1031
Description: Rectangular; astragal and fillet edging; two heater-shaped shields side by side, with a stag trippant crest above centre.
Notes: The dexter shield: quarterly first and fourth, a saracen's head affronté, erased at the shoulders wreathed about the temples; second and third, three lozenges in fess conjoined within a border; a baronet's inescutcheon in the centre chief. The sinister shield: on a bend cotised three gryphons' heads erased. The identity of the arms has yet to be determined.
- Decoration tags:
- rectangular (shape)
- astragal & fillet (edging)
- carved stamps
- heraldic
- armorial
- animals
- humans
Manufactured: in the 19th century in England.
Current location: in private hands, Saxtead, Suffolk, England.
- Attached to series:
- Personal armorial firebacks
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1098
Description: Rectangular shape; indeterminate moulded edging; central initials (A? D M)in triad, between split date (6 reversed).
Notes: The characters have been derived from an odd assortment: the numbers appear to be a recognisable character set, with the 6 and 9 interchangeable; the 6/9 has also been used, with the same stamp as has been used to form the uprights of the M, to construct a probable capital A (or R); the nature of the stamps forming the M is unclear. Noted in 1939 at Palfrey Farm, Petworth, West Sussex, which from the mid-16th century had been home to the Penycod family, suggesting that the fireback had not been original to the house.
Inscription: 16 / A[?] D M [triad] / 49
- Decoration tags:
- rectangular (shape)
- indeterminate moulded (edging)
- simple stamps
- carved stamps
- text
Manufactured: in 1649 in the Weald area of England.
Current location:.
Citation: Smail, H. C. P., April 1939, 'Iron Firebacks' [letter], Sussex County Magazine, 13, 4, p. 284.
- Attached to series:
- Date & initials firebacks
- Petworth lettering series
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683
Description: Rectangular; twisted rope edging (top and sides); top left and right, Tudor rose surmounted by a crown (separate stamps); right of centre, irregular pentagram formed of a repeated length of twisted rope enclosing a Tudor rose; on either side of top point of pentagram, a triple-loop stamp irregularly spaced.
Notes: The pentagram has both Christian and occult symbolism. The fleur and the rose and crown have been seen on another fireback.
Copies of this fireback are known.
- Decoration tags:
- rectangular (shape)
- rope (edging)
- simple stamps
- carved stamps
- heraldic
- apotropaic
- objects
Manufactured: in the late 16th century possibly in the Weald area of England.
Current location: in private hands, Sevenoaks, Kent, England.
- Attached to series:
- Rope design firebacks
- Looped fleur series
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688
Description: Rectangular; astragal edging; in centre, 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.
Inscription: [around shield] HONY SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE / [on motto scroll] AUT NUNQUAM TENTES, AUT PERFICE
Arms: Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset
- Decoration tags:
- rectangular (shape)
- astragal (edging)
- carved pattern panels
- armorial
- text
Manufactured: in the early 18th century in the Weald area of England.
Current location: Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent, England.
(part of the National Trust museum group)
- Attached to series:
- Dorset arms series
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1094
Description: Rectangular; twisted rope edging (top and sides); top centre, crowned Tudor royal shield between a lion passant on the right and a lion passant guardant sinister on the left; in each top corner a crowned four-petal rose, below which, to the right, a left-facing 'imp' with both arms lowered; below the armorial, a crowned shield bearing initials, KH, in Lombardic lettering, above a fleur-de-lys; a much-corroded imp figure may be below the right-hand lion.
Notes: A heavily corroded variant of a type bearing Henrician heraldic elements.
Arms: Tudor royal arms of England
- Decoration tags:
- rectangular (shape)
- rope (edging)
- carved stamps
- heraldic
- armorial
- animals
- humans
Manufactured: in the mid 16th century in the Weald area of England.
Current location: Smallhythe Place, Smallhythe Road, Tenterden, Kent, England.
Museum number: NT/SMA/M/37 (part of the National Trust museum group)
- Attached to series:
- Royal series
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903
Description: Rectangular; ovolo-moulded edging (top and sides); date between split initials across upper half of plate; two notches cut away for insertion of firedogs.
Notes: The ‘6s’ appear to have been moulded from a type of jemmy.
Inscription: g 1669 P [reversed]
- Decoration tags:
- rectangular (shape)
- ovolo (edging)
- individual letters
- individual numbers
- text
Manufactured: in 1669 possibly in the Weald area of England.
Current location: George & Dragon Inn, Speldhurst, Kent, England.
- Attached to series:
- Date & initials firebacks
- Andiron slot firebacks