Fireplace Discovery

[somersethouse]

Hi Everyone

Some of you may remember me (I posted some queries about a house we were in the process of buying a few months ago and a number of you were kind enough to share your opinions). Well, the sale all went through and we have been living in Somerset House for the past month The newish fireplaces in the living rooms have bugged me since we have been here so I decided to take one of them out last week - I was determined to find some evidence of the original fireplace but it proved a much bigger job than I thought! Days later and the bags of rubble were still coming out of the chimney (some loose, some cemented in place very firmly). Anyway, I was quite surprised with what I ended up with after about 4 days hard work so thought I'd share it with you all (pictures below showing various stages of the operation)! It seems to confirm suspicions that this room (now a living room) was once the original kitchen. I am about 6 foot tall and the top of the arch is as tall as me! I am very much a novice and have loads of questions about the discovery such as:

* How old is this fireplace likely to be (the house has been converted and adapted over the years so I am trying to piece it all together!)?
* Is it likely to have accomodated some sort of range stove? Or another arrangement?
* Would the inside have been plastered or bare brick (there is some evidence of old plaster inside the chimney but this may have beed added later)?
* Is the 'hole' in the side of the fireplace likely to have had some function? (the bricks around it are jagged and look as though they have been tampered with in later years - possible when the pipes were installed connecting to what I believe is a back boiler - this hole was completely filled with ashy sand, it is quite deep and seems to have a void above it).
* There is a jagged section of brick work running down the back of the fireplace (right hand side) - would this have continued right the way across the back of the fireplace?
* And finally, the quarry tiles and bricks on the floor have quite a bit of cement on them - what is the best method of cleaning this off?

I'd really appreciate any thoughts,opinions and advice!

 

[somersethouse]

Here are the rest of the pics...

 

[somersethouse]

Final pics...

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Well, before you got the hammer out, you had an almost perfect piece of period olde stonee fireplacee of c.1980, which future generations will rue you destroying. There'll soon be none left, you know.

It does look like a kitchen fireplace (depends a bit on its location in the house) which would have contained a range - possibly the opening to the left was for a water boiler for the rest of the house and maybe even radiators, depending on the date of the house? Plastered and/or tiled above the top of the range.

 

[somersethouse]

Thanks for your post Gareth – the verdict on the date of the house is so far as follows : it was originally part of a larger residence (probably early Victorian C1840-1850) that was split into 3 houses in the later Victorian period (all of which were extended out the back – and ours was extended to include a barn or outbuilding in which this fireplace is located). The room that this fireplace is located in is at the back of the house (from the entrance hall, there is a living room which leads into the room that this fireplace is located in). There is another room further back that also forms part of what was the Victorian barn\outbuilding with a newer extension added on (together housing the present kitchen).

 

[Penners]

It's always difficult to post an opinion after Gareth, because it just looks like riding on the expert's coat-tails. :|

However, I agree with everything he's said (he'll be relieved about that). It certainly looks like a Victorian range fireplace, almost certainly original to the house. I can't say much about the "jagged" bit of brickwork, except that it may have been something to do with the structure of the range.

Your penultimate picture shows an interesting box, with attached pipework - looks a bit like an old car silencer. There isn't a Ford Cortina the other side of the wall, is there?

 

[yamin]

Oh I'm so envious, what a super discovery to make - a lot of work but the unfolding of it must have been exciting! What do you plan to do with it? How wide is it? Nice big woodburner? Lucky you!

 

[somersethouse]

Thanks for the posts Penners and Yamin - I might try and sell the 'silencer' thing to an auto-salvage dealer!

The opening is approx 1.82m high x 1.1m wide - I haven't quite decided how best to present it yet but am thinking of putting in a small Victorian range as I think it would make a nice feature in the house (although not as practical as a nice big wood burner!). Does anyone know if a little range will produce much heat? Any ideas welcome!

Also, does anyone know if it would be more authentic to leave the brickwork inside the fireplace exposed (or paint it matt black?). And would others on here close up the hole on the left hand side (or make it a smaller, neater recess) - it is currectly very deep with loads of jagged bricks and despite my best efforts, is still very dirty and ashy inside (there seems to be an endless amount of stuff in there). It has definately been bashed out and made bigger at some stage in it's history.

 

[Penners]

My very amateur approach would probably be to restore the busted out hole inside, and the plaster any areas of bare brick. As I understand it, the Victorians weren't much into bare brick/stone/beams, which were regarded as rather "peasant".

As to your choice of appliance to put inside the fireplace, of course an old range would look charming, but I suspect that you wouldn't get as much heat from it as you would from a modern woodburner. The range was primarily designed to heat an oven and hotplates, so it might be a slight disappointment as a room heater.

But the above is just conjecture - no personal experience to draw on.

 

[somersethouse]

Thanks Penners - I am just after some opinions so your comments are very useful!

 

[njr_26]

I found a similar fireplace opening in my victorian house and have put a victorian range back in. It is quite complicated to cook on, but fun. As for heat, I couldn't sit directly in front of it as it was too hot! It needs a lot of fuel to keep going though and if you want something efficienct this isn't it, although It is nice knowing I could still cook if the gas was turned off. Not very nice in the summer though!

 

[Me!]

I've lived with one of these open ranges before which give out a good amount of heat, but only burn coal from what I remember.
Or what about a modern wood burning version.

 

[Penners]

Whatever type of stove you end up fitting, just don't let your granny sit on it.

She's too old to ride the range.






OK... OK..... I was leaving anyway.

 

[Carolmegit]

Hi Everyone

Some of you may remember me (I posted some queries about a house we were in the process of buying a few months ago and a number of you were kind enough to share your opinions). Well, the sale all went through and we have been living in Somerset House for the past month The newish fireplaces in the living rooms have bugged me since we have been here so I decided to take one of them out last week - I was determined to find some evidence of the original fireplace but it proved a much bigger job than I thought! Days later and the bags of rubble were still coming out of the chimney (some loose, some cemented in place very firmly). Anyway, I was quite surprised with what I ended up with after about 4 days hard work so thought I'd share it with you all (pictures below showing various stages of the operation)! It seems to confirm suspicions that this room (now a living room) was once the original kitchen. I am about 6 foot tall and the top of the arch is as tall as me! I am very much a novice and have loads of questions about the discovery such as:

* How old is this fireplace likely to be (the house has been converted and adapted over the years so I am trying to piece it all together!)?
* Is it likely to have accomodated some sort of range stove? Or another arrangement?
* Would the inside have been plastered or bare brick (there is some evidence of old plaster inside the chimney but this may have beed added later)?
* Is the 'hole' in the side of the fireplace likely to have had some function? (the bricks around it are jagged and look as though they have been tampered with in later years - possible when the pipes were installed connecting to what I believe is a back boiler - this hole was completely filled with ashy sand, it is quite deep and seems to have a void above it).
* There is a jagged section of brick work running down the back of the fireplace (right hand side) - would this have continued right the way across the back of the fireplace?
* And finally, the quarry tiles and bricks on the floor have quite a bit of cement on them - what is the best method of cleaning this off?

I'd really appreciate any thoughts,opinions and advice!

Hi, how do I open the pictures you’ve posted