An escutcheon is usually a round or square plate which surrounds a keyhole in your door providing a neat finish. For locking doors with door handles on a rose or door knobs, a separate escutcheon is fitted below the handle to cover the rough hole where the key is inserted. Escutcheons are available in all of the most popular finishes such as brass, chrome and nickel and can be chosen to match the rose on many of our handles.
Keyhole Designs & Materials
Some people may choose a covered escutcheon for the purposes of privacy on, perhaps, a bedroom door, where the covered escutcheon would be on the inside of the door and the uncovered escutcheon on the outside of the door. This prevents anyone from looking through the keyhole into the room. Of course many covered escutcheons are highly decorative and used on locking doors for this reason only. Porcelain escutcheons are only made as a covered version and they are generally a keyhole shape and perfectly complement a porcelain door knob and matching finger plate. Covered escutcheons such as Queen Anne, sausage and pea and beaded designs are an authentic addition to a period style door. Their decorative nature enhances the overall look of the door handle or mortice knob.
For external doors the keyhole cover is generally on the outside to prevent draughts and rain from coming through the keyhole.
