The original fireplaces in many old houses are now regarded as valuable parts of the period home. Most books on the subject, however, have concentrated on the architectural element of fireplace design and said little about the grate - though this often forms an important visual and practical component of the fireplace. This book traces the development of iron firegrates from their origins in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the flamboyant Art Nouveau designs of the Edwardian period. It also shows how changing interior fashions and attempts to improve the efficiency of grates influenced their design.