Victorian Mantel Design

The Victorian era was often referred to as The Battle of the Styles, due to the existence of the many decorative designs from previous eras. Depending on a family's status, the Victorian fireplace mantel was made from slate, marble, wood or stone. The early and mid-Victorian period preferred the Gothic and Elizabethan styles: the Gothic was associated with the true Christian doctrine of morality, integrity and innocence and the Elizabethan era invoked nostalgia for a chivalrous bygone age.

The later Victorian age was affected by a mixture of styles. In direct contrast to the Georgian, Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, the Victorian era avioded similarity and had a richness that appealed to all. It was customary to decorate mantels with plush velvet pelmets; over-mantels had many shelves and brackets and sometimes the whole mantelpiece was backed with a mirror – plate glass became fashionable around this time. The late Victorians particularly were fond of Jacobean architecture, with its opulence of Renaissance and medieval motifs.

The Victorian architect William Burges revelled in the middle ages and he had the advantage of designing the fascinating fireplace in the medieval great hall at Cardiff Castle. The stone over-mantle represents the Cardiff Castle itself and the Earl of Gloucester is shown riding out to war through the castle gates, to a fanfare of trumpets from the battlements above. The scene was colourfully painted in natural colours.

The degree of ornament on a Victorian fireplace mantel related directly to social class and the social importance of a room. In working-class houses the fireplace was plain, but the over-mantle was very ornamental and made of wood, which was stained or painted.

The industrious middle classes were able to mass-produce designs that would have only been previously available to the wealthy, and thus they had impressive fireplaces in the drawing and dining rooms – fireplaces presented in other rooms too, such as bedrooms, but these were on a much smaller scale. The wealthy were lucky enough to be able to choose any elaborate designs that appealed to them.

Marble became too expensive towards the end of the 19th century, so painted pine and mahogany, slate and cast iron were used for the greater number of Victorian fireplace mantels.

By: Sarah Symonds

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Sarah is the writer of MasterFireplaces.co.uk, an in depth resource on fireplace. See wide range of traditional, modern, gas, electric and Victorian fireplaces.