400 YEARS OF FIREPLACES


Fireplace designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1903


THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT The latter years of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century saw increased interest in reviving English domestic architecture which included reviving the traditional inglenook fireplace. First revived by notable architects such as Norman Shaw, they were widely used in the garden suburbs and in suburban Edwardian houses. They were often greatly reduced in size compared to their 17th century antecedents but often incorporated key features such as the bressumer beam or Tudor arch, side seats, exposed red brick walls and hearths, and sometimes side windows.


20TH CENTURY Gas fires were available in the 1860s but were uncommon until the turn of the 20th century. Electric fires became common after the First World War but coal burning fires were still being built into houses until after World War II. Fire surrounds became less and less imposing, frequently consisting of plain tiles of mottled buff or beige.


It was not until the interwar years when chimneys were blocked up and fire surrounds were removed in a rush to modernise and update. Many irreplaceable antiques were consigned to the tip. Fortunately in recent years the rush to remove fireplaces has subsided and people are realising the value of period fittings not just to preserve character but to enhance resale value.


CONSERVATION CONSIDERATIONS Most traditional fireplaces provide valuable evidence of how a house was heated and about the social status of those who installed them. In our enthusiasm for modernising old houses and making them more thermally efficient it is all too easy to remove the evidence of earlier fireplaces or to strip away later fireplaces to reveal an earlier recess which may never originally have been exposed.


Fortunately most fireplaces and surrounds are quite durable and still capable of providing the architectural focus or centrepiece to a room. Even if central heating is more appealing than the thought of bringing coal into the house and removing ashes, a fireplace can be cherished for its appearance and for the contribution it makes to character.


Where fireplaces have been removed or blocked up in the past, rooms can become lifeless and chimney breasts look a little redundant. Replacing missing fireplaces provides exciting opportunities to restore the integrity of a room. Fortunately, reclaimed period fireplaces are still widely available and high quality reproductions are also readily available. Hopefully this article provides a better understanding of how to get the right type and style of fireplace for any particular location.


Peter Bell LPOC Conservation Advisor


Credit is given to the following publications which were used in compiling this article: Neil Burton and Lucy Porten, Georgian Chimneypieces, 2000; The Victorian Society, Care for Victorian Houses: Fireplaces, 1993.


Tiled fireplace of 1935


GLOSSARY: THE ELEMENTS OF A FIREPLACE


Fireplace refers to the space within which the fire burns.


The hearth is the floor on which the fire burns and in front of the fireplace. It is normally made of incombustible tiles, bricks or stone and surrounded by a fender providing protection to the floor finishes of the room from burning embers from the fire.


Chimneybreast refers to the stone or brick structure which contains the flue or flues.


Chimneypiece is the term used to describe the architectural surround which took many forms depending on the date, style and status of the room or the house. Chimneypieces were, perhaps more than any other part of a building, considered items of fashion as well as an expression of status.


The firegrate is the metal appliance used for confining the wood or coal in the fireplace.


The fireback sits at the rear of the fire, designed to throw heat into the room and encourage efficient combustion.


78


Listed Heritage Magazine September/October 2018


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