Thanks, I should have mentioned the flue will be lined with a flexi kit.
I'll get some pictures shortly.
Part of me suspects there is perhaps blockwork behind those angled gathers supporting the flue, meaning the construction is something like this:
My fireplace and chimney is built from 4 inch blocks. The gather to support the flue is just two angled blocks resting on the first layer of block below the lintel as in the diagram. I haven't figured out what holds these up yet. It could be a pre-cast gather but it looks like block.
I want to...
Previous owner once painted or stained the facing bricks a deep red and the mortar a bright white.
It looks like a 1980s door-to-door salesman job as a few other properties have a similar stain. It looks awful but the original brick underneath is a more traditional orange colour judging by the...