Fender
Maker & role
Unknown, Manufacturer
Production date
circa 1810
Object detail
Production place
Collection
Measurements
0 - Whole, H: 41 x W: 100 x D: 37cm (H: 410 x W: 1000 x D: 370mm)
Credit line
Purchase, 2007
Elizabeth Bay House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Elizabeth Bay House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Description
An English wirework fender c. 1810, in plan the shape of a slightly flattened letter ‘D’. The mesh, serving to catch ash that may escape from the hearth, is composed of thin wire twisted twice at each juncture. The mesh is supported by a framework of brass top and bottom rails linked by nine upright thin square-profile metal bars. Three of the bars – to the centre and sides – are capped with brass-plated urn-shaped finials and rest, beneath the elevated tray, on three iron cones which terminate on prominent brass ball feet. A second horizontal brass rail, supported by a central upright, is located 1/3 back from the front, and provides both a balanced carry-point for the fender and convenient place to attach a kettle trivet. The rear 2/3rds of the tray slopes to the ground, negating the need for feet. The straight back edge of the fender would abut the stone or brick hearth.
Fenders were a necessary accessory for wood and coal-burning fireplaces to prevent stray embers, cinders or falling coals from igniting a hearth rug or scorching the floor. Similarly, the elevated base of a fender prevented heat from being transmitted through the metal and marking polished floorboards. Wire fenders are a product of the Industrial Revolution, as mechanisation enabled cheap, mass produced wire to be fabricated (wirework furniture, such as plant stands and veranda chairs in the Elizabeth Bay House and Vaucluse House collections are other examples) although it is likely that mesh involved hand production. ‘Nursery fenders’ are significantly taller wire fenders, designed to prevent children from approaching a fire, which, in a nursery, was lit for longer periods of the year.
Acquisitions for Elizabeth Bay House “emphasise the early period of occupation by the Macleay family from 1839-1845, and where possible will be based on inventories and other documentary evidence. If no information is available acquisitions will be made on the basis of documentation relating to other houses of similar period, style and quality.’ (Acquisitions policy for Elizabeth Bay House, section 1.2) . The Inventory of Furniture in Elizabeth Bay House deeded by Alexander Macleay to his eldest son William Sharp Macleay on 1st February 1845 list grates, fenders and fire-irons in all bedrooms, dining and breakfast room, but not in any servant occupied bedrooms or workspaces excepting the kitchen.
Wirework fenders have been acquired for Elizabeth Bay House on the basis of the surviving example at Denbigh, Narellan, probably dating from the period of its occupancy (1827-1868) by Rev. Thomas Hassall.
Fenders were a necessary accessory for wood and coal-burning fireplaces to prevent stray embers, cinders or falling coals from igniting a hearth rug or scorching the floor. Similarly, the elevated base of a fender prevented heat from being transmitted through the metal and marking polished floorboards. Wire fenders are a product of the Industrial Revolution, as mechanisation enabled cheap, mass produced wire to be fabricated (wirework furniture, such as plant stands and veranda chairs in the Elizabeth Bay House and Vaucluse House collections are other examples) although it is likely that mesh involved hand production. ‘Nursery fenders’ are significantly taller wire fenders, designed to prevent children from approaching a fire, which, in a nursery, was lit for longer periods of the year.
Acquisitions for Elizabeth Bay House “emphasise the early period of occupation by the Macleay family from 1839-1845, and where possible will be based on inventories and other documentary evidence. If no information is available acquisitions will be made on the basis of documentation relating to other houses of similar period, style and quality.’ (Acquisitions policy for Elizabeth Bay House, section 1.2) . The Inventory of Furniture in Elizabeth Bay House deeded by Alexander Macleay to his eldest son William Sharp Macleay on 1st February 1845 list grates, fenders and fire-irons in all bedrooms, dining and breakfast room, but not in any servant occupied bedrooms or workspaces excepting the kitchen.
Wirework fenders have been acquired for Elizabeth Bay House on the basis of the surviving example at Denbigh, Narellan, probably dating from the period of its occupancy (1827-1868) by Rev. Thomas Hassall.
Accession number
EB2007/18
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