Dining Room Fireplace

In a most unexpected and uncharacteristic burst of house-keeping, my builders decided to tidy up the area around the castle’s dining room fireplace.  I was told that the remaining in-situ sections of pink granite mantelpiece would have to be removed for the tidying to occur, so I decided to photograph the process.

first photo

In the first photo you can see the start of the work. A 1950’s (?) concrete infill has started to be chipped out. The circular hole in the concrete would have allowed a stove to be connected up to the fireplace, which would have been infinitely more efficient than the original open fireplace.

second photo

In the second photo you can see the brick "throating" which would have been inserted in the 1950’s (?) to improve the draw of the stove.

third photo

In the third photo the original fireplace has been revealed. It is impressively large and open with an elegant and subtle arch. The original metal insert has long since gone. It will be rewarding to put something beautiful back in this location. We now have a starting point.

Entrance Porch

Even though Angus Council banned the opening ceremony for the newly restored Great Hall at Balintore Castle, one positive outcome is that the original architect for the restoration project called Paul Bradley, came up from Suffolk specially for the occasion. It was so lovely to see him again.

Paul was able to take an "after" photo of the entrance porch at the castle, to go with the "before" photo he had taken many years previously. Often it takes someone from outside to capture progress. With the door repaired and repainted; the vegetation removed; and the urns returned, things are looking much better.

In fact, you can see clearly how the urns complete the composition of the porch. How did I ever manage without them? :-)

entrance porch before

entrance porch after