Some time ago we attacked the Library Fireplace , well, we (the Royal we) have been at it again. After Ronnie got a little hammer-happy it now looks like this…

The rest of it needs clearing this weekend, amazed that the arch hasn’t fallen down, but it’s in a sorry old state cosmetically. We found a dinky old gas pipe in the fireplace, so there must have been gas into the house at some point in it’s history, when we were digging we found a mangled old lead pipe which much have been the supply. I’ve also wondered what these little pipes were in the lounge…

After a bit of research it has been decided they are pipes for gas lighting which was commonplace amongst the middle classes until the 1930s, when they decided they’d had quite enough blackened ceilings (wonder if that is why there is SO much paint on our ceiling roses?!) and house fires.

(Image from http://www.Victorianadverts.com) I’d imagine the glass company owners that lived here in Victorian times had some stunning gasoliers, I wonder what more we’ll find out about the history of our home?