What was in here? -aha

[Moo]

The invitation should read "Bring a bottle, some food, and a hard hat."

 

[chuckey]

Robgil, it looks to me that the original "fireplace" was of all stone block construction. The victorians then came along and thought they would tidy things up a bit by building a brick fire place and the piece of wood is just a transition piece, to get from the blocks to bricks without any fiddling about trying to run a proper bond between the two different forms of construction.
Frank

 

[robgil]

my fire place or jills? apparently mine was rebuilt at one stage in the past but its always been brick. those are just bricks placed on end above the wood , probably to fill the gap full of rubble behind them and provide a face to render on. but the wood as you say could be where they built a new fire place and used it to hold stuff up as they did it.

 

[fluffytail10]

well thank you so much,

do pop round any time , i have loads more questions and odd bits about the house, which i'd love to find out about.

i'm really hoping it turns out to be 18th century, rather than 19th - a little more exclusive i feel!

xx

 

[Penners]

do pop round any time

North Walsham? That's somewhere near the Arctic Circle, isn't it?

 

[Jon Maine]

PPUKers are a convivial lot, fluff, and would jump at a chance to congregate en masse at your house in the new year and meet you and the boyfriend. And, of course, snoop around the house offering impeccable advice.
The invitation should read "Bring a bottle, some food, and a hard hat."

Exactly the same as above a second time and then edited it, leaving Jon Maine a stupid post yet again

I hate to bring your attention to this Moo but are we getting a touch forgetful posting the same message twice? :?

 

[Moo]

Oh dear. I hadn't noticed that.
I blame it on my new keyboard, which is so sleek and slim and gorgeous that it quite literally put me off my stroke.



I shall now go back and edit that double-post, which will make your tactful reminder a bit obscure, I'm afraid.

 

[Jill]

You seem to have something going on with the brickwork on the right too.

It was a single brick thickness wall with no foundations and not tied into the stone wall either. The "mess" on the left was where we were knocking through to the cottage next door.

 

[Jon Maine]

I shall now go back and edit that double-post, which will make your tactful reminder a bit obscure, I'm afraid.

:lol: :lol:

 

[DaveBrigg]

Our main chimney also has a double lintel. The opening is roughly semi-circular, with a lintel above which stretches the width of the chimney breast. There are a few courses of bricks, and then a second, identical lintel. I presume this was because of the weight of the central ceiling beam, which rests directly above the fireplace.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Dave - your "lintels" (strange name for them) aren't identical - one is wearing a red t-shirt. 8)

 

[JoceAndChris]

Never mind the kids or the fireplace - I want the doors! :mrgreen:

 

[Gareth Hughes]

A lovely c1800 china cupboard. I hope it's not too much to ask that when the remedial work has been done there's be plaster back on all the walls, an appropriate firepalce (NOT an inglenook) and a general acceptance that that particular room's heyday was also that of Jane Austen and not Captain Caveman? :shock:

 

[DaveBrigg]

Not a china cupboard: I've tapped the doors with a hammer and they're definitely wood. The original shelving is still in place, alongside a very thin semi-circular back, also in wood.
I'm afraid that the remedial work has already been finished and approved by our CO. The walls were lime plastered, apart from at the back of the fireplace, where the heavy soot stains suggest that the bare brick has existed previously. The fireplace was completely boarded up when we started work, and had been reduced in size twice during its life. This left the choice of which era to choose: Presumably late Victorian, judging by the size of the last opening and fireplaces elsewhere in the house; earlier, with a fire surround of unknown design; as it was first constructed, with bread oven to the inside left or 1980's, (Captain Caveman era I think) with plastic cladding, chipboard and an electric fire.
We also need to use this as a working fireplace, and so required a solution that would not suck all the heat up the chimney. There is now a Franklin stove in the gap. I know this is not contemporary with the Georgian cupboard, but the fireplace is at least authentic to one period of the house's history. We felt that this was more honest than putting in a replica 'Georgian' fireplace to a design which may or may not have been there at some point, and certainly more efficient in terms of keeping warm.

PS We saw Jane Austen's old school last weekend. It's in Reading and can be visited if you choose the right day.

 

[JoceAndChris]

How lovely Jane Austen's school looks - I've never been.

And the china cupboard is beautiful.

We also need to use this as a working fireplace, and so required a solution that would not suck all the heat up the chimney. There is now a Franklin stove in the gap. I know this is not contemporary with the Georgian cupboard, but the fireplace is at least authentic to one period of the house's history. We felt that this was more honest than putting in a replica 'Georgian' fireplace to a design which may or may not have been there at some point, and certainly more efficient in terms of keeping warm.

Don't blame you, we've got Jane Austen's servant style fireplaces and rather than lighting them it's a much warmer experience to go out and shovel sh*ite, which is I suppose what they did.