Exposing red brick around fireplace - Concrete or plaster?

[LHrenovation]

Hi, firstly, sorry if I post this in the wrong place! I've just bought my first house and I'm looking at exposing the red brick surrounding our woodburner. Firstly, I'm not sure if the material is plaster or concrete. I'd love any advise on how I should tackle this? Would I be able to remove this manually, or would i require some specialist tool. Thanks in advance!

 

[Stewie03]

Come off no worries that just use a toffee hammer and a scraper

 

[raytheplasterer]

looks like sand and cement, get a screwdriver first and try to scratch the exposed part on the side to see how strong or weak it is, could end up with damaged bricks.

 

[malc]

Leave it a lone it looks tidy. go and dig the garden!

 

[Monkey Boy]

Leave it a lone it looks tidy. go and dig the garden!

Apart from that little purple bit on the brick I agree