Fireplace Mega Deals

Whenever we consider the history of fireplaces one thing is certain, even the most basic type of fireplace has been used by every culture in the world in some form since mankind first started to evolve. In fact the first fire pits which were a rudimentary form of fireplace were dug by early caveman for warmth on cold days and nights, protection from wild animals and essential cooking.

These basic fireplaces were also the center for the coming together of people to gather around and experience the heat. There was of course a problem with building a fire pit in a cave or indeed any other enclosed structure, there needed to be a way for the smoke to escape. With the dawning of straw huts the smoke made its way through the tiny openings in the straw but it still must have been fairly “eye-watering” but in the case of Indian tipis, for instance an opening was placed in the top of the structure to let the smoke escape. This lasted for thousands of years and even today nomadic tribes emulate these first fireplace designs.

Around the twelfth century the fireplace was moved from the centre of the dwelling place to a position against a wall and during this century the beginnings of the chimney began to come into use and continued pretty well into the fifteenth century by which time most buildings of any note had two floors, or more, and people wanted fireplaces upstairs to heat bedrooms and nurseries.
These early fireplaces vented the smoke out of the building horizontally and since smoke wants to move vertically it was just as likely to come back into the room.

This is when the chimney really came into its own by encouraging the smoke to rise vertically and flow out of the building. The chimney proved to be a critical innovation as the first and second floors of the home would share a common chimney structure and it was at about this time that architects began to take fireplace design seriously.

Sir Christopher Wren, a famous English architect, began to design fireplaces to improve the whole look and feel of a room. So during the seventeenth century the fireplace became an important architectural feature of reception rooms, especially in the great houses of the day.

In 1678 Prince Rupert of the Rhine discovered that by raising the frame used for holding the burning fuel there was immediately more air circulation underneath the fire and therefore the fireplace became more efficient. His design also included a switchable baffle to allow the air to flow up, then down, then up again. This meant that hot gases had longer to travel before being completely burnt thereby producing more heat.

In the eighteenth century a prominent American named Benjamin Franklin invented a stove that became known as the Franklin stove. This unique stove made of cast iron sent the heat back into the middle of the room and this re-distribution helped to heat whole rooms much more evenly. This clever invention continued to radiate heat long after the fire was out and a heat vent at the top allowed the heated air to escape into the room.

Another American named David Rittenhouse added an L-shaped stovepipe to move the air through the fire and vent the smoke out through the chimney. This vastly improved the performance of the Franklin stove and by the end of the 1700’s the stove was being used throughout the US.

In the late 1700s Sir Benjamin Thompson, also born in the United States designed the first fireplace as we know it with a tall and shallow firebox. This firebox reflected heat more efficiently and provided a much better method for smoke to escape. This design, the foundation of all modern fireplaces, allowed the chimney to be placed in the wall of the home which was far more convenient, not least because it cut down on the number of chimney fires.

There then followed the industrial revolution that led to large scale housing developments which in turn brought about the standardisation of fireplaces. Probably the best known fireplace designers during this period were the Adam brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace that became very famous and was used for generations. Even today there are many reproduction fireplaces produced in the ‘Adam’ style.

By this nineteenth century the basic structure of the fireplace was firmly in place and consisted of two main parts which were the surround and the insert. The surround was the mantle and sides and usually constructed of wood, marble and granite, while the insert was the part of the fireplace where the fire burned. The latter was made of cast iron and often decorated with various tiles. The Victorians were particularly sentimental and viewed the fireplace as adding a cosy, classy and beautiful addition to their homes.

In the early twentieth century not long after the First World War a strong design movement known as Art Deco focused on function over form. These views swept through society and in the main emphasised the value of modern aesthetic values so fireplaces built during this period reflected this particular trend. With the advent of World War II came widespread destruction throughout Europe creating an urgent need for cheap and practical housing and with all that began the immediate development of prefabricated electric fires and fireplaces.

Modern day Britain has seen many technical advances including the introduction of central heating. At this point, and for a while, the fireplace became not much more than a decorative statement in the home rather than a source of necessary heat. However, slowly but surely the fireplace has once again achieved recognition as an important part of family home life and is now back in vogue to be enjoyed by a growing number of traditionalists who regard the fireplace not just as a place to keep warm but also as a centre for social gatherings.