Fireplace Opportunity Opens Up

Our vision for the Priory House is that it should be a haven from the madness and problems of a deeply flawed and rapidly crumbling society. Accordingly, while it's being completely rewired for the moddern, high-tech, electronic world, we're also doing everything possible to build in resilience to the power outage chaos which looks set to become an ever-increasing problem as Net Zero madness sabotages the electricity grid.

So, apart from the fact that open fires and traditional stoves are lovely to look at and to enjoy with friends of an evening, they are also an important part of our future-proofing plan for the Priory. That's why we were delighted this week to discover a completely unexpected extra fireplace. This is in the back bedroom with the best view of the chapel and the stone cross on its roof. It's a room we already saw as extra special, but it will be even better if we reinstate the fireplace.

Imagine staying in what is going to be a superbly decorated and furnished double bedroom, complete with a living, crackling fire. Even if the green lunatics have plunged us all into darkness, Templar guests or Christian refugees will be warm and happy here.

We were already intending to restore the fireplace which we already knew was in the other best bedroom. We knew it would cost around $1,500 to put a modern liner in the chimney and we had already bought the Victorian grate and fireplace surround for it. In fact, we'd stumbled across a second one so fine that we bought it as well, "just in case". Heavy duty antiques like this are going for up to two thousand pounds each around here these days, so buying them and putting them in storage several years ago turns out to have been a wise move.

That means that we can add a touch of romance and luxury - and power cut future-proofing - to our two best bedrooms for just the cost of lining the two chimneys. Just $3,000 and the job will be done. Of course, it makes sense to have them both done at the same time, while the specialist contractor is here and up on the roof.