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

The pointed arch is perhaps the defining characteristic of gothic architecture and was therefore a visual principle gothic revival architects of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries couldn’t do without. The pointed arch in this chimneypiece, although so shallow as to be hardly perceptible, is nevertheless a crucial part of the overall conception. Indeed, this chimneypiece relies for its impression upon these sloped shoulders, the only curves in the whole design. The frieze is left uncarved, the stone wearing it’s age handsomely.