the rectangular backplate above the bowed railed basket with a pierced steel apron, the panelled hob-fronts with guilloche borders cast in relief with pineapples,

This is a wonderful example of a Georgian hobgrate – likely to be the produce of Coalbrookdale in Shropshire or perhaps the Carron foundry in Falkirk. We haven’t found a discernible foundry stamp. The surface is somewhat pitted as if it has been left outside to corrode for some considerable time in its 250year life. We have strengthened it at the back and re-finished it.

The pineapple motif is significant. The pineapple has long been an emblem of “welcome”, and generosity, and wealth. In the 18th Century, these exotic fruit could only be cultivated in the more sophisticated glass houses of larger country estates – they were the preserve of the wealthy.