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If access to the top of the chimney stack is very difficult and you have an irregular, unlined flue, this may be the solution for you...but note; in a rough walled sooty old inglenook fireplace fitting them is not for the faint hearted !

The simplest variation is as shown on the left - a frame is attached to the sidewalls of the gather and the damper flap is hinged from the rear of the frame. In the open position it swings up and back, over centre to rest on the back wall, and when closed, its own weight holds it against the frame. Normally supplied with an operating tool that engages an eye at the front of the damper to lift and lower.

One needs to ensure that the chimney is still wide enough at the point where the edge of the flap will rest in the open position to accomodate the width of the flap !!

If that option won't work, a flap can be fitted that pivots on an axle running from left to right. I usually make the pivot just off centre, so that it falls open and stays open when released: again, an operating tool opens and closes it...it's held closed either by a high temperature magnet, or a simple catch operated by a twist of the tool.

Again..one needs to ensure the shape of the chimney allows the damper to swing freely between open and shut positions. A wider frame and narrower damper can help achieve this.....but at the cost of reducing the opening area for flue gasses to escape...so a little risky if you have a fireplace that only just draws..

When the width of the gather narrows steeply it may be necessary to pivot the flap on its shorter axis.This normally means fitting the frame higher up so as not to see the flap hanging down in the fireplace.

Fireplace dampers are very much bespoke, made to measure devices. I can consider surveying/ fitting locally (Buckingham/Milton Keynes area), but otherwise I rely on you and/or your installer to tell me what you need. It's much easier to fit a frame that's, say an inch undersized all round and fill the gaps with rockwool/cement than to try and cram something into a space it barely fits!

I normally fit these by hammering 12mm square metal pegs into drilled 12mm round holes in the wall and welding the pegs to the frame on site. Without access to a welder the best bet is probably to set studs in the wall with resin and bolt the frame to them.