Each house originally contained a large fireplace in the front room downstairs and a smaller cast iron fireplace in the upstairs front and back rooms.

Like many young homeowners at the time, he raided builders' skips for period cast iron fireplaces, discarded doors and joinery to 'gentrify' a down-at-heel gem.

In the 19th century, other successful industries included pottery, brass making and the manufacture of cast iron fireplaces.

Cast iron fireplaces, consisting of a coal-fired open grate with a boiler box on one side and an oven on the other, were the sole means of heating and cooking.