What is the small metal drawer inside of the fireplace for?

My house has a brick wood burning five place. Inside the fireplace, built into its right hand-side wall, there’s a little metal drawer (iron, probably). The drawer’s face is about 2×4" and it is 4" deep approximately and is about 6" from the floor of the fireplace.

Anyone has any idea what that’s for? I searched the internet without finding any info on it.

it’s a hideyhole for gold…..where it is says that when a fire was going, no one would see it due to the stack of logs and ash…. your house’s builder put it there for his ‘bank’…..

4 Responses

  1. Oldmansea Says:

    In the back of your fireplace is a trap door for the ashes to be swept into. the drawer is for clean out of the ashes. unless someone covered over the trap door.
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  2. boy boy Says:

    its not an ash drawer …im a builder ..never seen a drawer in that position …and its size is too small for ashes …all so never seen a brick built wood burning fireplace …im sure you can burn coal in it …as for the drawer use your imagination
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  3. meanolmaw Says:

    it’s a hideyhole for gold…..where it is says that when a fire was going, no one would see it due to the stack of logs and ash…. your house’s builder put it there for his ‘bank’…..
    References :

  4. big dog Says:

    ok this is my guess, Old-timer is right if its below the bottom but as you state it its not its off to one side, i remember hearing stories of folks using stones to keep their feet warm in bed in the old days, this drawer might have been to put the rocks in to warm them up but still in a place that you can get a hold of them without burns. don’t know but that sounds right. and as for no brick wood burning fireplaces, their made out of all kinds of things.
    References :

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