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Victorian Fireplaces

The Victorian era is widely known for its distinct interior design—a mixture of organized cleanliness with over-the-top, decadent detail. Purpose-specific rooms, such as a parlor and a large living room for guests and entertainment, made up a typical Victorian home. Of course, without the modern amenities many are accustomed to today, many rooms in a Victorian home were never without a fireplace, including the bedrooms and living areas. Victorian fireplaces were often viewed as the “heart of the home.” Thus, many were extremely ornate and predominately comprised of cast iron, marble, wood detail, and eventually, decorative tiles.

The Victorian era was when cast iron fireplaces truly made their debut. Providing not only decoration and ambiance, for the first time, these fireplace designs provided heat control for the home.

As coal was a popular fuel source for its increasing efficiency, many fireplaces were outfitted with a hob grate—a holder for the burning embers for the fireplace, or a firebasket. Hob grates ranged in detail from curved, fluted side panels to very deep front bars and rounded decorations on the cast iron back panel. Firebaskets were just as detailed with ornate designs and varied with size. The larger the piece, the more heavily decorated the surfaces could be. In the Victorian era, most firebaskets were large and were fully decorated. As the Victorian era progressed, the fireplaces continued to become more ornate. Most exhibited an arched fireplace insert decorated with tiles, fine marble or slate pieces for the chimney. The introduction of new fireplace materials slowly came into high demand as changes in the styles evolved.

As the fireplaces progressed, so did the fireplace mantel shelves. Victorians were the first to show off possessions as decorations. In order to accommodate these decorations, mantles became wider and were covered in clocks, artwork and other ornaments. Keeping with the over-the-top detail of the era, most fireplaces were draped with luxurious fabrics for an elegant look, or a large cast iron mirror was placed over the mantle. Scrolls, medallions, engravings, and a variety of objects and symbols typically adorned these mirrors.

It was not until the early 1900’s, after Queen Victoria’s passing, when cast iron fireplaces were quickly forced out with the increasingly popular introduction of tile, marble, and other sources as the predominant building materials of choice. However, the Victorian detail and influence continues to be a prominent element in today’s interior design.