A Vestal goddess of the hearth, modeled by the sculptor John Bacon R.A. (D.1799) who was granted a Royal Appointment to the King George III in 1769, is first noted in the 1770's when it was exhibited by Eleanor Coade at the Society of Artists Exhition and continued to be manufactured at the Lambeth Works untill the 1820s. The model was attributed to Bacon in the catalogue of Coade's Gallery, 1799 (see A. Kelly, Mrs Coade stone. worcs. 1990, p.130 fig. 4). The Vestal featured in a wall-niche at Beaumont Lodge, Windsor in the early 1790s, and was also supplied to Earl Fitzwilliam at Wentworth House, Yorkshire, in 1814.

Much mystery surrounds the life of Eleanor Coade and her decision to venture into the business of artificial stone manufacturing. Her famous Coade Factory was based in Lambeth, London, which is now part of the area occupied by the Southbank Centre. Throughout its history spanning from 1769-1840, the factory produced a vast array of products such as architectural and garden ornaments, decorative details, statues and monuments. ‘Coade stone’ as it is known was of exceptional quality, and was the only kind of artificial stone at the time to be resilient to frost and other forms of harsh outdoor exposure. The high standards of design and quality upheld by Coade were noticed by London’s most highly regarded architects including Robert Adam, James Wyatt, John Nash and Sir John Soane, each of whom commissioned works.

Coade’s most prestigious work was at Buckingham Palace which was rebuilt by Nash in 1825.

The artificial stone produced by the Coade Factory was unique in that it was a ceramic material containing a large proportion of ground pre-fired stoneware with a glass stabilizer added to it, which was rolled into sheets and pressed into reusable molds. Because most works were cast in sections before firing, they could easily be altered to suit the client’s individual wishes.