Victorian Fireplaces

Buying guide

The Victorian cast iron fireplace is the one most of us picture: an arched opening, a decorative front, tiled panels either side and a polished grate. Whether you live in a two-up two-down terrace or a large villa, there is a design and size to suit.

What makes a fireplace Victorian?

Fireplaces of the Victorian era (1837 to 1901) were made in huge numbers as cast iron production took off, so almost every room with a chimney had one. Common features include:

• An arched or rounded fire opening with a decorative cast frame.
• Tiled side panels, often with floral or geometric designs.
• A cast iron grate and ash pan cover at the base.
• A black leaded finish, or polished highlights on the raised detail.
• Combination fireplaces upstairs, inserts with timber or marble surrounds downstairs.

Our Victorian fireplaces

Which size suits your room?

Bedrooms and small rooms. The Victorian Small, 760mm wide and only 160mm deep, is the classic bedroom fireplace. It is solid fuel only, with no matching gas fire.

Living rooms and larger bedrooms. The Tweed at 1010mm and the Victorian Large at 1090mm give a complete fireplace with a mantel shelf in one casting.

Formal reception rooms. An insert inside a surround gives the full size, formal fireplace. Carron's inserts are 1020mm square; pair one with a solid oak or pine surround, a marble or stone surround, or the Late Victorian style Carron Albert cast iron surround, checking the surround's opening against the insert.

Room by room

In a typical Victorian house, the front parlour had the grandest fireplace, often a cast iron insert framed by marble or timber with a deep mantel shelf for clocks and ornaments. The back room or dining room had something a little simpler, and the bedrooms had combination fireplaces, smaller and lighter, sometimes with tiled panels. Following that hierarchy helps a restored house feel right: a Prince or London Plate insert with a surround downstairs, a Tweed or Victorian Large in a big bedroom, and the Victorian Small in a smaller one.

Tiles, finish and hearth

Tiles make a Victorian fireplace. Carron's blue flower on bone tiles are glazed clay in a set of 10, made for Carron fireplaces with tile holders such as the Valentine; check the fireplace listing before ordering. For the finish, black suits most rooms, while full polish gives a bright metal sheen that suits a grander room. Underneath, an open fire needs a constructional hearth, which Carron's Absolute Black granite hearths can finish: the four piece hearths are for solid fuel. Replacement ash pans are made for specific Carron fireplaces.

Restoring a Victorian room

If the original fireplace has gone, look for clues to what was there: the size of the builder's opening, marks on the floorboards where the hearth sat and any surviving fireplaces in neighbouring houses of the same age. Choose a Carron design close in size and style. Finish with tiles in the colours of the period, deep reds, greens and blues, a black or polished finish to suit the room, and a granite or stone hearth. A cast iron radiator in a matching finish completes the effect; see our cast iron radiators.

Using a Victorian fireplace

Carron's Victorian fireplaces are made for solid fuel on an open fire, installed to a working chimney by a HETAS registered installer, with a carbon monoxide alarm in the room. In a smoke control area (many towns and cities across the UK have them; your council can confirm), an open fire can only burn authorised smokeless fuel. Have the chimney swept and checked before the first fire, and keep the air supply into the room permanently open. If you want more heat or to burn wood in a smoke control area, an exempt stove standing on the hearth in front of a surround gives the period look with far better efficiency.