Discovering a fireplace within a fireplace

Whilst knocking the plaster off the kitchen wall, we exposed the old fireplace, or what we thought was the old fireplace. It transpired the chimney had been taken away years before, so the fireplace was merely a cosmetic feature now. This meant there was a gap between the ceiling and the top of the fireplace. I would have to remove a few layers of bricks in order to give us access to the beams ready for nailing on the new plasterboard for the ceiling.

I got the trusty jackhammer out and put a board over the cooker so a)it was protected b)I could stand on it. Then fired the beast up! The corner stones fell away easily, but the middle ones took some brute force. I was also very wary of anything collapsing as I knew there would be some bricks that tied it in to the wall. I pulled out a couple of the bigger middle bricks, felt a rush of cold air and a huge gap appeared. Two thoughts went through my mind; excitement that I'd found something new, fear in case there was a body bricked up behind it (I have an overactive imagination and have read/watched too much horror).

I drilled the next two layers down, removed the stones and stuck a torch in the appearing hole to have a look. No bodies were in there...PHEW! It revealed a large old original fireplace. It was very crude, narrow at the top, wider at the hearth and no longer a working chimney. It will need quite a bit of restoration, as some of the outside is lime mortar and 'rubble, but it's beautiful and an important original feature of the house. I think I also have the original lintel, which will need reinstating back in its higher up position during the rebuild.

I haven't found anything significant up the chimney, no witch marks or talismans yet, however, I think this is a very old part of the house. I might pop my own talisman up there for good measure. The brickwork around it looks like it once had a window and perhaps a bread oven. It is also very thick.

Eventually, and after some restoration and a gas pipe move, I will put the range cooker further back into the fireplace. This will be quite a job but keeping original features is important in these old houses, it's part of our heritage!