Victoriana is a small family business started by Tony Bell in 1980. My grandmother was in the antique trade from the 1920s until the early 1970s so from childhood I have had a fascination with antiques and all things historical after leaving school I started a business dealing in general antiques and small architectural items.
The large-scale redevelopment of Salford and areas of Manchester in the late 70s and early 80s led to the sudden availability of a huge amount architectural salvage including old fireplaces, lamp posts and slates. This was the catalyst that led me to start Victoriana Fireplaces. Great days were spent rescuing cast iron fireplace, and all manner of under-valued and largely unwanted architectural items, at one point I had over 500 chimney pots!
The large-scale redevelopment of Salford and areas of Manchester in the late 70s and early 80s led to the sudden availability of a huge amount architectural salvage including old fireplaces, lamp posts and slates. This was the catalyst that led me to start Victoriana Fireplaces. Great days were spent rescuing cast iron fireplace, and all manner of under-valued and largely unwanted architectural items, at one point I had over 500 chimney pots!
Services
Welcome to Victoriana Fireplaces where we have been selling our products through our shop in Irlam since 1982. The business is owned by Tony Bell whose family has been in the antiques business since the 1920s! If you are looking for an original fireplace or one of our cast iron fireplaces from the Victorian period, then you have come to the right place.
If you go all the way back to the early part of the 19 century you'll find that nearly all new fireplaces were made in two parts. There was the outer part or the fire surround and the inner part or 'insert'. This was made of cast-iron and was where the fire burnt, the iron was important as it was a robust material which would not buckle under the intense heat.
As the name suggests the unique feature with a combination fireplace is that it is all in one. This means that they are a combination of fireplace, insert, surround and mantel, essentially two pieces in one, the cast and the shelf above. These are more affordable that non-combination pieces and are easier to fit as they have an integrated lug on the back which can be used to fix the piece to the chimney breast.
The hearth is the name for the stone or tiled front piece that sits in front of an antique fireplace. Browse our collection of antique style hearths made to order in the styles above. Our hearths come in a variety of styles and materials as you can see from the quarry tile and slate hearths show above.
Reviews (2)
Barry O'Neill
Jul 02, 2020
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Cannot recommend Tony @ Victoriana enough. I was put in touch with him by another tradesperson. He took an enormous amount of time to discuss options with me, even though his recommendation was then to do something that meant no business for him. Extremely honest guy who will give you good advice. Thanks for your time Tony.
Tim Nicholson
Aug 07, 2019
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We had almost given up looking for a very specific fire grate to fit into an opening in our Georgian house when a friend recommended Victoriana in Irlam. Within five minutes of arriving we were offered us a choice of two which were both perfect. We chose a wonderful piece which was in completely original condition and finished to a very high standard by Tony's team. This has made an amazing difference to our home and I highly recommend Victoriana Fireplaces to anyone looking for reasonably priced original antique fireplaces.
