FLAT VICTORIAN

One of our Chiswick fireplaces on display in our London fireplace showroom.

Queen Victoria was the longest reigning British monarch and the figurehead of a vast empire. She oversaw vast changes in British society and gave her name to an age. Victoria was born in London on 24 May 1819, the only child of Edward, Duke of Kent, and Victoria Maria Louisa of Saxe-Coburg. She succeeded her uncle, William IV, in 1837, at the age of 18, and her reign dominated the rest of the century.

The size of a Victorian fireplace depended on the size of the room. Areas that received guests such as the front parlour would have had the grandest fireplace and mantel.

The Victorians preferred coal to wood. The coals were set into small tight baskets that angled the fire into the room.