Baroque: The grand baroque fireplace was very popular amongst the early Georgian elite. The rich had large marble mantelpieces in their homes, often paired with elaborate wood overmantels which had baroque paintings built into a central panel. Manufacturers of the time had numerous design influences to choose from, but most Georgian fireplaces were very plain. These are very rare today and very expensive because of their rarity.
Palladian: By 1720, architects began to turn away from the baroque and replace it with something far simpler that would suit the majority of interiors. The neo-classical Palladian style was perfectly suited for the job.
Rococo Fireplace
Rococo: From Europe came the light, fresh Rococo style. Popular in French and German townhouses, the Rococo disliked the Palladian rules of symmetry and a fireplace opening consisted of curved strips of marble in an elongated ‘s’ shape -these were known as serpentine lines. Surrounds were usually made from coloured marble, with the most popular being marbre d’Antin, a rich mixture of red, yellow and violet, streaked with grey. Mirrors in the overmantel were very popular, and these were usually oval – in some homes, the entire fireplace opening was lined with mirrors. Chimneypieces were often decorated, with gilded bronze, known as ormolu, on moulded plaster or carved wood. Common Rococo motifs included delicate flowers and foliage and ribbons.
The Gothic: The emergence of the Gothic came about as a direct result of the influence that the Rococo style had on Georgian Britain. It was more a fantasy than the copying of a medieval decoration, as demonstrated by Horace Walpole, author and son of Sir Robert Walpole. In 1749, he purchased a house in Twickenham named Strawberry Hill. He designed his fireplaces using ideas taken from tombs in Westminster Abbey – the chimneypiece in the round room was based on the tomb of Edward the Confessor, whilst the library fireplace imitated the tomb of John of Eltham. Walpole demonstrated that one’s taste could be adequately expressed through the fireplace.
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