About Us:

Experience can never be bought, only worked for. From the mid 1970’s when brick and stone fireplaces were the ‘order of the day’ the present owners of The Fireplace Gallery (U.K.) Limited, Bill and Glenda Burkinshaw could often be found with their heads up a chimney, carrying out a smoke test before the gas fire was fitted into one of their fireplaces.

As fashions began to change Bill’s natural flair for design took him into the realms of creating individual timber mantels. In 1989 The Fireplace Gallery (U.K.) Limited was formed and for the next five years continued to manufacture and supply their timber mantels direct to local retail customers. By 1994 due to it’s success the business relocated to much larger premises and had, by this time, begun to supply their products to trade as well as retail customers.

By 1996 the company decided to attend the 1997 national trade exhibition at Harrogate. This direction resulted in the launch of the Gallery Collection brochure, which featured a number of new designs and finishes to complement some of the existing range. In addition to mantels co-ordinating hearth plinths, hanging mirrors and radiator cabinets extended the product options. One of the new designs, the Windsor, was given a special black lead effect finish. This was the first example of a wooden mantel made to replicate the look of cast iron, common in Victorian times.

The company introduced five new designs and more special finishes at the next exhibition in 1998. The new Alexandria design, with its yew finish, and the Brassinca mantel and over mantel mirror complete with matching hearth plinths won top design awards. Other new mantel designs, the Athena and the Olympia featured two new finishes, ivory and parchment, both unique in the industry.

The company was to achieve national TV acclaim in May 2000. ITV’s Better Homes program hosted by Carole Vorderman, featured a Gallery Collection design called the Warwick with a stone finish. This particular application of a textured stone paint, onto a wooden mantel was created in late 1998 and was another example of the company’s innovation.

To accommodate continuing growth it became necessary to extend the factory and spray booth facilities. Once the extensions had been built, work started in 1999. Yet more expansion was needed, and the acquisition of the adjacent company’s premises in January 2000 provided additional storage facilities and has enabled the company to convert its old stockroom into a new machine shop. New investment in the latest technological woodworking machinery arrived at the end of 2000 which enabled the company to enhance production capacities even further.

Moving On to 2002 and The Company Exhibit again at the Home and Hearth Exhibition and are presented with a Highly Commended Award for one of the displays The Roselle

2003 Sees even more Awards For its designs with a Highly Commended award for the Ziggy Mantel and The FIREPLACE OF THE YEAR AWARD for the Consort mantel