Can I hang a mantle mirror on a wall?

Yes, but you need heavy-duty fixings. Antique mantle mirrors carry weight due to the thick glass and dense wooden carcase. Add proper D-rings to the solid side stiles. Avoid trusting the old backing boards or fragile upper frame to hold the load.

My fireplace has a narrow shelf and I'm worried the frame is going to tip forward if someone bumps into the chimney breast. How did they stop these falling over in the past?

They fixed them directly to the wall behind. Even when sitting flush on a wide mantlepiece, these frames require wall anchors to remain stable. Makers often fitted brass mirror plates to the side edges. You screw through these metal tabs straight into the brickwork, keeping the whole unit locked upright.

What cleans cloudy antique mirror glass?

You cannot wash away the cloudiness. The grey haze sits behind the glass, caused by the chemical breakdown of the silvering itself. A soft dry cloth removes surface dust.

The gold finish on mine looks dull and brown in certain patches, especially around the bottom edges where the wood touches the stone shelf. Should I try to polish it back to a bright gold?

Leave the finish as it is. That dull brown is the base clay bole showing through where the thin gold leaf has rubbed away over decades of dusting and handling. Rubbing it will only strip more gold off the high spots. The varied surface forms part of the character and shining it up usually damages the surrounding gesso.

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Antique Mantle Mirrors from the 19th Century

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Designed to rest above a fireplace, an antique mantle mirror typically features an elongated horizontal frame built to reflect light back into the parlour while protecting the fragile glass from the direct heat of the fire.