The overmantel of this fireplace, is highly enriched with solid wood carvings of fruit and birds, surrounding a rectangular frame. The overmantel is completed with a broken pediment bearing the three plumes of the Prince of Wales. The carvings suggest that they were from a slightly later date than the first floor room immediately below and were probably fabricated on site rather than imported. The birds and other details refer to the emerging Rococo style, although many of the leaves and floral elements were stock designs found in late seventeenth century grand English Baroque interiors.
The fireplace likely originally had an 18th century French stone mantel, as depicted in the photograph below, from 1899. The 18th century stone mantel was in the Louis XIV style, featuring a shell motif and a partially enclosed firebox.
During the 1911 restoration, the French mantel was removed, as the preservationists assumed it was part of the Victorian era, and Dutch tiles in an octagonal design, colored yellow, blue and green, with landscapes, castles, sail boats, fisherman, and other scenes, were installed, as seen in the photograph below.
The fireplace also has a fireback made from a re-purposed jamb stove plate. The stove plate features a depiction of the Biblical story of Elijah being fed by the ravens. At some point during the twentieth century, the tiles were removed, and a pink granite mantel was installed. No documentation has been located to identify when the stove plate was installed or when the tiles were removed, although the stove plate, identical to the one in the room to the west, is marked with the date "1760."
