The original ‘Original’ design for our stone fireplace
……so, having visited countless country houses and historical properties, we had a pretty good idea of what elements should be included in the design for our fireplace. Primarily it was going to be plain and simple. No fancy carving or intricate mouldings, just a solid, functional, yet beautiful design. It was also going to be substantial! This was a substantially built farmhouse: Built with good materials and designed to last for hundreds of years. Our fireplace needed to fulfill the same criteria. We therefore made the fireplace out of solid blocks of stone that are 160 mm (5 1/4″) thick. These are very heavy, but if you decide to build one of our fireplaces into your chimney breast, then this thickness and strength means the top can act as a lintol to support some of your chimney breast if necessary.
Many modern fireplaces of course are made of slips that are ’stuck on’ to look like heavy blocks, or some are made from less substantial blocks of stone, but really there is no substitute for proper full sized blocks. That is the way the ancient originals were made, and is also the way we believe modern equivalents should be made.
This means a VERY heavy stone fireplace. (Around 400kg) for a ‘Large original’ But despite this meaning you’ll need a bit of muscle for the installation, it’s all worth it when you see the finished product.
So, back to that old farmhouse: We drew up our design and within 3 weeks we had turned it into the real thing. It was installed in the beautiful house and is of course still there now. It’s probably 30 years old now, but looks like it has been there for many hundreds.