1900's terraced house. What's this...A fireplace & Chimney in The KITCHEN? Surely not

Aubrey_Thicket

Hi all

I am currently renovating an old terraced house. It's a complete 'back to the brick' jobby. This is the 3rd time I've worked on this type of house. Today, whilst knocking old plaster off I have discovered a mini chimney in the kitchen on the back wall of the house. It was only apparent when I knocked the old plaster off the kitchen and the bedroom above it. You can't see it from the outside and there is no roof chimney. However, there is a chamber inside the cavity that is crammed full of black soot. If I stick a brush pole up the chamber the soot comes crashing down. It's difficult to describe its construction but it in no way involves the external brickwork. However, the internal brickwork has like a mini (1/2 brick wide) chimney breast from the floor, up through the kitchen ceiling and up the bedroom wall above it. So, i went into the bedroom to the top of this mini breast stack and it just stops dead. I can push a stick all the way down the breast into the Kitchen. Someone tell me I'm not imagining this. I asked the neighbours (who are pensioners themselves and have lived here 50+ years) do they have a similar chimney breast and both said no.
Baffled!

tizerbelle

Quite common for Victorian terraces to have fires and chimneys in the kitchen. Used to heat the room and do the cooking on. Sounds like someone has previously removed the chimney and stack from first floor up but left the ground floor - does happen quite often. I have a triangular slice in the corner of my kitchen where the fireplace and chimney used to be.

leveller2911

Occasionally see them in old houses and if its what I think it is they were called a "copper".Always in the kitchen and they were a way of heating water . Similar to a "Bread oven" which works on the same principle. If cleaned up nicely they are a nice feature..

Aubrey_Thicket

Agghhhhh. Answered then.

Thanks peeps.

thebaldwindowfitter

Yes we have encountered a few chimneys in this position on terrace houses sometimes between window and door sometimes in corner away from door

cherydee

We live in a 140 yr old terrace house, our kitchen and upstairs bathroom at one point ran the full length of the yard, and housed further rooms. Then at some time years ago this offshoot was halved, but when the other rooms were demolished they still left all the chimney stacks intact, which have caused a whole lot of problems in our bathroom and kitchen beneath it. No ventilation has caused dampness, when the roofer went up he found there was 6 chambers, so he's put 6 cowls on and while having a new kitchen fitted put airbricks in so now a constant airflow. Time will tell if our problems are cured.

FreeBear

Neighbour has a chimney (or rather, had) in his kitchen - The property was built late 50s, early 60s.

Having a chimney/fire in the kitchen isn't that unusual, especially before the advent of gas & electric cookers.

Gloomendoom

Our house is hundreds of years old and has a chimney in the kitchen. Our neighbour's house was built in the late 1960's and has one too.

As has been, said not unusual at all. People had to cook on something.