Period Fireplaces

Buying guide

A cast iron fireplace is often the single detail that makes a period room feel right. Whether you are putting back what a previous owner ripped out or bringing character to a plainer room, the choice comes down to style, size and how you will use it.

What makes a period fireplace?

Period fireplaces take their designs from the main eras of British house building: Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian and Art Nouveau. Most original fireplaces from the 19th and early 20th centuries were cast iron, which could be cast in intricate patterns, mass produced and fitted to every room with a chimney, from the grand reception room to the servant's bedroom.

Carron's period fireplaces are cast iron, made in the same two forms as the originals:

• Combination fireplaces, with surround and insert cast in one piece, like the Crocus and Tweed. These were typical of bedrooms and smaller rooms.
• Inserts, the cast iron fire chamber and front, like the London Plate and Royal, which sit inside a separate surround of timber, stone or cast iron. These suited living and dining rooms.

The Carron range compared

Figures are Carron's. Carron gives its cast iron fireplaces a 3 year guarantee, with 1 year on the ashpan and firebrick.

Matching the style to your home

The most convincing period fireplace is one that matches the age of the house, or at least the feel of the room.

1837 to 1901

Victorian

Arched openings, decorative castings and tiled side panels. The Tweed, Victorian Large and Small, and the London Plate, Prince and Scotia inserts.

Shop Victorian fireplaces

About 1890 to 1910

Art Nouveau

Flowing tulips, lilies and climbing stems with tall, slender proportions. The Tulip, Crocus, Bella, Valentine and Verona.

Shop Art Nouveau

1714 to the 1830s

Georgian

Restrained, classical and well proportioned. The Royal insert with the Alice or Somerset cast iron surround.

Shop Georgian

If the house has been heavily modernised, take your cue from the room instead: a tall Victorian room with a cornice suits a substantial insert and surround, while a cottage room with low beams suits something smaller and simpler. For the finishing touches, Carron's glazed tiles and cast iron flower panels add period colour, and a granite hearth grounds the whole fireplace.

Within a house, the grandest fireplace traditionally went in the front reception room, with simpler combinations upstairs. You do not have to follow that, but it helps when choosing sizes: a big 1020mm insert with a full surround suits a large living room, and a 710mm Crocus suits a small bedroom.

Insert or combination?

Choose a combination fireplace if you want one complete piece that fixes to the chimney breast: no separate surround to buy, a shallower depth (140mm to 260mm) and a size range from 710mm to 1260mm wide. It is the authentic choice for a bedroom or small parlour.

Choose an insert if you want a formal, full size fireplace with a mantel surround. Carron's inserts are 1020mm square, designed to sit behind a surround with a matching aperture. Our solid oak and pine Carron surrounds mostly have a 910mm x 910mm opening, and the Carron cast iron surrounds openings of around 900mm to 940mm; check the surround's opening against the insert before ordering. See fire surrounds and our guide to inserts versus combinations.

Finishes, tiles and details

Most Carron fireplaces come in two finishes. Black is a traditional blackened finish that suits most rooms. Full polish is hand polished bare metal for a bright, silvery look that catches the light of the fire. The Verona, Prince and Scotia are listed in black.

Tiles bring colour to many designs. Carron's blue flower on bone tiles are glazed clay, sold as a set of 10; check the product page for the tile size that fits your fireplace. Carron's cast iron flower panels, 765mm x 155mm each in highlight polish, are an alternative to tiles. Replacement ash pans are made for specific Carron fireplaces.

Burning a fire in a period fireplace

Carron's cast iron fireplaces are designed for solid fuel on an open fire. That brings a few rules.

• Smoke control areas. An open fire is not an exempt appliance, so in a smoke control area you can burn only authorised smokeless fuel, such as anthracite. You cannot burn wood on it there. Check your council's map before you choose.
• Elsewhere, burn dry wood under 20% moisture or smokeless fuel. Traditional house coal can no longer be sold for burning in homes in England.
• Gas. Some Carron designs have a matching gas fire, which must suit the fireplace and flue and be fitted by a Gas Safe engineer. The Victorian Small has no matching gas fire.
• Decorative only. Many people fit a cast iron fireplace purely for the look, with candles or a log display in the grate and the chimney capped and ventilated.

An open fire is much less efficient than a stove, because a great deal of warm air goes up the chimney. If heat matters more than the look, consider a small log burner standing in front of a period surround instead.

Living with an open fire

An open fire is a different experience from a stove: more crackle, more ritual and less heat for the fuel you burn. A few habits make it easier.

• Lighting. Start small with kindling and a firelighter on a bed of a little ash, and build up gradually. Make sure the room's air vent is open.
• Fuel. Dry logs under 20% moisture or authorised smokeless fuel; never wet wood, rubbish or treated timber. In a smoke control area, smokeless fuel only.
• Ash. Empty the ash pan regularly once cold, into a metal bucket kept outside.
• Sweeping. Fire and rescue services recommend sweeping quarterly while burning wood regularly and at least once a year for smokeless fuel.
• Safety. Use a fireguard where there are children or pets, never leave a fire burning unattended, and test the carbon monoxide alarm regularly.

Decorative fireplaces

Not every period fireplace has to be lit. Many people fit a Carron combination fireplace purely as a decorative feature, especially in bedrooms. If you will not use the chimney, have it capped at the top with ventilation so damp does not build up, and keep a small vent in the room or fireplace so air can move through the flue. A grate filled with candles, a log display or a basket of pine cones finishes the look. If you ever want to light it, have the chimney checked and the hearth confirmed first.

Hearths, chimneys and installation

• Chimney. Have the chimney swept and checked before you light a fire. For an open fireplace with an opening up to 500mm x 550mm, Approved Document J asks for a flue of at least 200mm diameter or equivalent.
• Air. An open fire needs permanent ventilation into the room of at least half the throat area.
• Hearth. A constructional hearth at least 125mm thick, projecting 500mm in front of the recess and 150mm beyond each side. A granite hearth on top finishes it; Carron's four piece hearths are for solid fuel.
• Fixing. Fix the fireplace firmly to the chimney breast and seal gaps so flue gases cannot escape behind it.
• Who. A HETAS registered installer can fit and certify it, and a carbon monoxide alarm is required in the room.

Our guide to chimney height covers the outlet rules if the chimney has been altered.

Restoring or replacing an original

If you have an original fireplace, restoring it is often worth it: cracked tiles can be replaced, a missing grate or ash pan sourced, and rust cleaned back and re-blacked. If the original has gone, a new Carron fireplace in the right style restores the room's focal point and comes with a guarantee and known dimensions. Either way, have the chimney swept and inspected, and look at the hearth: many old hearths were laid before current rules and may need rebuilding for an open fire.