Firebacks

Manufactured in 1660

  1. 690

    smallhythe_place.jpg
    1280 x 470 mm
    Image subject to copyright

    Description: Canted rectangle; plain edges; broad horizontal fillet dividing the plate in two just above the side angles, with vertical fillets to top corners enclosing date and initials.

    Notes: Uncharacteristically crude for the period.

    Inscription: IS / 16 60

    Manufactured: in 1660 in the Weald area of England.

    Current location: Smallhythe Place, Small Hythe Road, Tenterden, Kent, England.

    Museum number: 1117951 (part of the National Trust museum group)

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

  2. 1328

    wotton_under_edge,_wotton_auctions_8-10_apr_2026_lot_2351_720x670.jpg
    720 x 670 mm

    Description: Arched rectangular shaped; astragal edging (top and sides); date split by central stamp of a carved bracket figure of a bearded man in a loincloth and cap; rhyme in capitals across rectangular plate, letters carved on strips, split by figure.

    Notes: The twin miseries of a smoky house and a scolding wife are mentioned several times in literature. The dress of the figure suggests work as a miner, possibly linking this back with the Forest of Dean. Variants with initials and dates are also known. A fireback with the same date was noted at Bellamy's Farm, Longney, Gloucestershire in 1912 (Notes and Queries, 11th ser., 6 (Sep 1912), p.230.). Note the greater height than other examples. Wotton Auction Rooms, 8-10 Apr 2026, lot 2351.

    Inscription: 16 60 / FROM ·A·-·SMOKY ·LIFE·/ AND·A SCOVL DING·WIFE·/ALL MEN THAT-DOE·ME·SE/ TAKE·PETIE- AND·DELIVER ME

    Manufactured: in 1660 in the Forest of Dean area of England.

    Current location: Wotton Auction Rooms, Tabernacle Pitch, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England.

    Citation: Chambers, L. H., 26 Sep 1912, 'Fireback: Relic of 1660', Notes and Queries, 11th series, 6, p. 230.