N427

A Mid-19th Century Gothic Revival Chimneypiece Carved in Portland Stone.

There is an august simplicity to this Jacobean-revival chimneypiece, the hard, square outline complementing the sloping shoulders of the aperture. Alternating voided roundels and mascles set in frames of stone make up the frieze and evoke the gothic dreams of Walpole and Scott. Yet this chimneypiece is not typically gothic, for an admirable restraint is shown; there is no delicate moulding or heedless embellishment, the decoration drawn with a heavy, confident hand to form a handsome, well-proportioned chimneypiece.