Firebacks

Shape: rectangular with round arch and triangle above

  1. 51

    taunton,_london fine ltd.jpg
    890 x 680 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular shaped, topped with a triangle; twisted rope edging (top and sides only); inverted Tudor royal shield and Garter, crown above, greyhound and lion supporters (see example at Alfriston Clergy House). Two horizontal planklines.

    Notes: A uniquely shaped fireback, the inverted shield and Garter indicate that they formed a separate stamp from the crown; other firebacks with these stamps have the shield and Garter the correct way round. A frequently copied fireback; a larger version has a bottom extension.

    Copies of this fireback are known.

    Inscription: HONE SOVT QUEY MAL Y PENSE

    Arms: Tudor royal (prob.Henry VIII)

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

    Current location: Courtlands, Taunton, Somerset, England.

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