We live in a 1910 stone four room cottage a very typical turn of the 1900's design. The kitchens at that time were built seperate from the house for fire safety reasons. The kitchen in our home was added as a lean to on the back and was built also of stone, It would of been added sometime after the house was originally built.
Over the years the fireplace had been remodelled into a cupboard. When we bought the house a wood burning stove had been slotted into the fireplace. It wasn't orignal to the house and wasn't flued in as the chimney was blocked off with about 6 inches of cement. the previous owners had bought the stove at an auction intending to do it up.
The stone mason came in last week and reopened the fireplace and stripped it back. We were happy to see the original brickwork was intact including the arch. All we need to do now is clean the bricks up a litttle and apply a sealer. We will also be tiling the inside of the fireplace to make for easy cleaning, once the stove goes back in.
The old wood stove is now on the back verander getting ready to be restored and put back into the kitchen to keep us warm in the winter and I may even learn to cook with her. The stove is a Metters No.2 with a water tank on the side. We've discovered you can still buy replacement parts! and even buy them new.
