Hey, whatcha think of these for teeth, huh?Red Panda.Pretty in the garden.Ililussat, Greenland.Too busy to pose for a photo.Do you think A A Milne would make me a character in his books?Summer sky in Ireland.A different view of the bridge.Norway lights.Palestinian architecture.Squid and son.Hey, don’t knock leaves till you tried them…Ireland.Saffron. Time for a buffalo, I think.BaataraGeorge, Lebanon.A joey sticking out of his mum’s pouch.Miniature Donkey.Geothermals in Iceland.This is my sad look, coz you’re going away.
I backpacked around Ireland many moons ago, and yes, you could be served a pint alongside farmers with their sheep, folk posting letters, and an old bloke getting measured for a suit.
“Do you serve hot meals?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a menu?”
“Och, it will just be what me and me old fella are having for our tea.”
Those were the days.
I was told my food was ready, and went up to the bar to fetch it.
Come behind the bar, and go through that door, I was told.
Sit down there and tuck in. I ate with the family, and others that had ordered food, at a long table in the kitchen. Thick ham slices and loads of spuds if my memory serves me right. Great stuff. I ended up sleeping on the floor in my sleeping bag next to a big fire that night. They wouldn’t let me go and pitch my tent in the rain!
You naturally look at the bridge; I, having seen it out of my bedroom window ever since I was large enough to look oot the windae, see the pub where I spent many Saturday evenings getting drunk and fighting with matelots. The walk home over the road bridge at two in the morning could be beautiful, I saw the Northern Lights once.
Reminds me of a story. I spent a lot of time in the hostelries of Inverkeithing and North Queensferry – Large Naval presence meant lots of girls looking for sailors, but a long haired laddie with a motorbike would do.
Anyhow, met a guy who walked with sticks and asked him the story, being nineteen, drunk and tactless. He said that he had jumped off the bridge and smashed his legs. Drunk and tactless went “Eh?” “I jumped off before the water” D&T went “Why?”
The interesting old Albert Hotel caught my eye too. I’ve been curious about the old buildings in the UK and Europe that have chimneys with multiple round tubes sticking out the top. Apparently the way buildings with multiple flues for stoves and maybe fireplaces were built, but I’ve never seen anything like them in the states.
LOL…..Interesting! I wonder if what’s remaining of some of the old colonial architecture in the buildings of the East might have such things. Old Ben Franklin famously invented a heating stove that must have needed a small diameter flue. On the other hand, there are individual fireplaces in the various rooms of Mount Vernon, (George Washington’s Virginia plantation house, which is the original structure,) but the house only has two square chimneys. This is kind of chimney I seem to see on all American buildings where a chimney is visible.
loved the Lebanese gorge and Palestinian building. And there was a red Panda – beautiful little creatures. Isn’t nature lovely. Thanks for the extra orang. Sitting behind a woman on the bus the other day and read over her shoulder that a smuggler had been arrested – lots of rare tortoises and he had two six month orangs in a CASE. The poor wee things cowered when it was opened but have been sent to nice humans running a sanctuary. Hope they lock the smuggler in a case and throw away the key 😦
I love nature. Looking back I wish I’d paid more attention when I was younger, maybe studied it and made a career out of it. Imagine working with animals or plants all day.
I reckon I’m a relatively tolerant person, but among a few things that get me really riled is any cruelty to animals.
I’m not sure if it is worse when they do it for money, rather than out of sheer badness.
The punishments I would hand down to people who inflict pain and misery on animals would make the Saudis look kind.
Baby animals are usually cute. But then we have that Joey who looks like something out of a horror movie. 😉
I assume that’s a kangaroo, but other things are called Joeys it seems. I found these Tasmanian Devil Joeys. They look cute at this stage, but we have to remember that Tasmanian Devils are sort of small kangaroos with anger management issues.
Well, we must value Mr. Munguin’s views of course. And kangaroos are certainly cute at a later stage of development, like the Devil joeys. Perhaps I’ll reconsider my first thought which evoked for me a creature in the bar scene of Star Wars. 😉
They often have or had sort of “lids” on them. I can’t remember what my granny called them, although strangely I seem to recall that she called them grannies.
@ Juteman and Tris……..I first tried to find out something about these things when I kept noticing them in old historic pictures of London, Paris, Edinburgh, etc. But I didn’t know what to call them, so Google wasn’t of much help. When Tris used the term “chimney pots,” I knew what to call them and found lots of information. The general idea is that they reduced rainfall entry and improved the draft of a chimney…….particularly a large chimney which might serve multiple fireplaces. Odd that they are clearly available commercially, but I’d never noticed them in the States (at least here in the Midwest.) There are however all sorts of other rainfall covers for chimneys that I see in modern residential construction. Walking through George Washington’s “Mount Vernon,” I noticed how many fireplaces there are in the various rooms, but only two relatively modest sized square chimneys on the roof. (Unless there are others not so immediately visible from the front. My Mount Vernon tour time was limited.)
Speaking of Google and Wikipedia…….did you know we have a thing here that accommodates the modern middle class desire for a decorative fireplace in the living room? It’s a “fireplace” that’s not built from masonry at all, but is an insulated metal “fireplace insert”. And the exterior chimney of such an installation becomes a timber framed wooden enclosure around the metal flue. Looks cheap and tacky when it’s not then faced with decorative brick, and I thought it was simply a way for people who want a fireplace, but don’t have enough money to actually build a real one. Turns out that brick and other masonry fireplaces do not survive very well in large earthquakes, and in earthquake-prone zones like California, timber framed fireplace inserts are actually recommended (maybe required in some areas) by building code. You can then get faux-masonry facing that looks like brick…..sort of……from a distance.
I Googled various forms of “Granny” and “Chimney Pots” and kept coming up with references to “chimney cowls” which are clearly various forms of covers on chimneys and chimney pots to deflect rain and sometimes, to mechanically improve or direct air flow. This is a passage from a book about confusion with a teacher, when a kid apparently said that “grannies” are up on a roof.
Here’s hoping this ends up in the right place – it’s more about chimneys. One thing I know is that old “inglenook” fireplaces were pretty lousy technology – it took a while to discover that if you wanted the fire to draw properly, the opening of the fire place should not be more than 10 (?) times the area of the flue itself (cf. Count Rumford below.).
I’ve seized a bit of text on this, and I have to say that it was news to me that when you open up an old flue that’s been closed off in an old building, the rubbish in the old fireplace may be of archaeological interest… as for chimneys made of wattle and daub… yet another lousy idea. And I will never be able to look at a Brother Cadfael story in the same way now that I know the derivation of the name “Pargetter”. Extract from http://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=2142&p=0
“Chimneys were not widely used in domestic buildings until brick became
available in the late medieval period. Before this, most dwellings used open
hearths, with one large fire, typically in the centre of the building, for both
heating and cooking. The smoke would billow around the inside of the
building before escaping through gaps or simple louvres in the roof.
Some early chimneys were constructed of timber framing with wattle and
daub infill and are known as ‘smoke hoods’. If they are found in-situ or even
in use they are important and rare survivals of historic fabric and should be
conserved. Smoke hoods are sometimes unrecognised because a later
chimney with fireplace has been inserted at low level and a brick or stone
stack added above the roof.
The earliest brick chimneys were built over traditional open hearths. Wood
consumption was high, as most of the heat went up the chimney with the
smoke, while cold air was sucked in from the outside through the leaky
building fabric.
As comfort standards improved and buildings became more
compartmentalised, smaller fireplaces were required in more parts of the
building. This trend was aided by the growing availability of coal in the 17th
and 18th centuries, especially in urban areas. Coal burns more efficiently
than wood, providing more heat from a smaller fire. Coal fires benefit from
being in a grate that allows more oxygen to reach the burning coal.
In the 18th century the writings of Count Rumford, founder of the Royal
Institution in London, greatly influenced the basic design principles of
chimneys and fireplaces. A similar wish for improved efficiency provided the
impetus for filling in many earlier inglenook fireplaces.
As fireplaces became smaller and more efficient, so did chimneys. In the
18th and 19th centuries they became more and more complex, often
combining several flues, each serving a separate fire.
The divider between flues within one chimneystack is called a withe. Withes
were often slender, sometimes a single thickness of brick laid on edge,
sometimes thin cut stones or occasionally a single layer of slate. This
makes them vulnerable to damage when a chimney is swept, particularly at
bends and other complex flue configurations.
Most brick flues are lined to prevent gases escaping through joints and
cracks. The traditional method of lining chimney flues was to apply a mix of
lime putty and fresh cow dung, known as ‘parge’ as the chimney was built.
Parging continued to be common until the 1965 Building Regulations
introduced a requirement for all new flues to be built with a liner during
construction. During the 1960s the most commonly used flue liner was clay
pipes, though with further tightening of the regulations concrete and metallic
flue liners took over.
Chimney pots did not come into common use until the 17th century and early
18th century. Most pots seen today are 19th century or later.
The fabric of chimneys in historic buildings and debris that accumulates in
disused chimneys can be of archaeological importance. Care should be
taken not to lose historic fabric during the opening up of old flues or during
the process of making alterations to flues in historic buildings. Listed
Building Consent may also be required.” [Presumably that last bit applies in Scotland too.]
@ eddjasfreeman……What an interesting read about fireplaces and flues! I like your comment about “pargetter.” (I also like Brother Cadfael.) And I now know what “wattle and daub” means. In the REALLY old days, the smoke of an open hearth fire in the middle of the room had to be really unpleasant. Fireplaces clearly illustrate a lot of history. I love the firewood rhyme. Thanks for posting.
As much of an improvement as fireplaces were, they surely had their limitations. The direct radiant heat from a fire can almost seem to burn you at close distance, even as a large quantity of heat is wasted up the chimney. Then when there is no fire, you have cold air coming down the chimney. Watching a modern homeowner use a decorative fireplace in the living space of a modern house, I was impressed with the constant work involved with the wood in keeping a nice bright flame going. Decorative “gas logs” that LOOK like a wood fire but don’t have to be tended would be my choice where there is a supply of natural gas.
As for fireplace history, our family traced its history back to land that was homesteaded on the Missouri (USA) frontier in the late 1830’s. My great grandfather told me that my great great great great grandfather (I think), as all early settlers, had as his first project the building of a log cabin and a stone fireplace and chimney for heating and cooking. The log building lasted through the generations and was later incorporated into a larger wood frame structure, as the fireplace was augmented with wood stoves, and finally a modern LPG gas heating system. The old house burned to the ground about 50 years ago, but I saw the location not very long ago, now marked only by the old stone fireplace and chimney standing alone in the middle of a farm field. Some old fireplaces on the frontier were built to last.
Thanks, Danny! I’ve always been rather interested – oh, my father taught engineering (among other things) at the University of Strathclyde, I inherited some of his interests, I think! – in the technological side of common objects such as fireplaces. If you think about it, there wasn’t always such a thing as fireclay, for example. Well, I suppose there must have been, but no one had thought of turning it into firebrick.
As far as I can tell, just arguing from first principles, chimney-pots were beneficial by providing a (sometimes decorative) extension to the flue, increasing its drawing power, and because they are less weighty than brickwork, could push the height of the stack that bit higher than might otherwise be safe.
I expect there are other reasons for using chimney-pots – one of them being, perhaps, that as they are smooth inside and circular (usually), the flue gases flow less turbulently and faster, minimizing the size of the opening and reducing the amount of rain that can get in. With modern lined chimneys, I suppose you could say that they’re chimney-pot all the way down to the bottom of the flue.
There were various types of cowl (cowling) that you could find on the things, the general idea behind them being to reduce the blow-back you would get sometimes when wind conditions were right, and yes, to keep the rain out and stop birds nesting in them. It’s a pity we don’t have storks in Scotland any more, though! Last recorded breeding pair was in 1416… evidently it’s not just chimneys they build their nests on. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-26833379
Thanks eddjasfreeman……The evolving technology of utilitarian objects and systems is indeed an interesting study from an engineering perspective. I had been interested for a long time in chimney pots that are ubiquitous in old photographs of buildings in the UK and Europe, but I can’t ever remember seeing one in any old picture of early urban America. They must surely be there and I just haven’t noticed. I didn’t even know what they were called, but when Tris used the term “chimney pot”, then I had search words that yielded a wealth of information. I see that the makers of clay chimney pots use the fact that they provide additional effective height of the chimney in a light weight inexpensive way as one of the advantages. The decorative chimney stacks of the Tudor part of Hampton Court (the Henry VIII part that William III didn’t get around to tearing down) are both fascinating technology and works of art.
As you say, chimney pots must surely serve to improve the draft for the flue gasses and help keep water out. You often see a group of them on top of a large chimney that probably serves multiple fireplaces, and would otherwise I guess be a larger rectangular chimney opening. There are three groups of three on the front wall of the Albert Hotel in the bridge picture.
The comments in your article were interesting about how the interior structure of flues which connect with several fireplaces can be complex and can complicate cleaning. I was surprised at the number of fireplaces that are in the rooms of George Washington’s home in Virginia, and yet which seem to connect with only two rather modestly sized square chimneys (unless there are other chimneys on other parts of the roof that I didn’t notice.)
It does seem that safe operation requires more or less constant attention to cleaning and maintenance. Here in the states, it’s quite common for middle class homes to have a decorative fireplace. In years past, a masonry chimney was always visible, and they often have no cowling to repel rain (which in the Midwest for example can come in violent downpours.) Surprising that rain water is not more of a problem with fireplaces, and can apparently largely be absorbed on the interior surface of the flue and later evaporates.
More recently as I mentioned, fireplace construction here uses a relatively inexpensive metal “insert” that comprises the firebox, which connects to a metal pipe for a flue and chimney. So now on new houses I see bright metal pipes poking out of a square or rectangular timber frame enclosure, faced with whatever siding is on the exterior of the house. Looks cheap and tacky and I wonder how much more it would have cost to face it with decorative brick and make it look like a “real” fireplace chimney……LOL.
But as I also mentioned, such timber frame enclosures of metal fireplace pipes is apparently now preferred in earthquake-prone areas like California, since as I understand it, there’s not any really effective way to secure and stabilize masonry against the shaking of a large earthquake. (Not even a decorative exterior masonry facade which can fall on people.)
I have a friend at work who built a new house and went to the time and trouble and expanse to find someone who actually knew how to build a traditional fireplace with fire brick and masonry, etc. He’s very proud of his REAL fireplace.
Thanks again for all the interesting historical information. Including the news of the storks too. The legend here is that they bring babies of course, but I had no real idea of where or how they nested and migrated. 600 years was a long time to wait for them to come back to Britain……LOL.
Thanks, everyone! You know, there’s one thing I forgot to mention, and I really shouldn’t have, with my background with UN-Habitat, among other things. That is, in most of the Least Developed Countries, the main fuel for ordinary people is still wood (or charcoal) – keywords deforestation, desertification, among others.
Woodsmoke – and we all love the smell, don’t we? – is actually a major cause of morbidity and mortality when you’re up close and personal with wood fires a lot of the time, so women are particularly affected – I don’t need to go into gender stereotyping here, I’m sure, but just imagine having a wood fire in your living room – no flues – or in an outhouse out the back if you’re a bit wealthier. Not very good at all for the eyes and lungs, and there are loads of toxic chemicals in the smoke which you can’t even see.
Just à propos of nothing in particular, except pargetting, maybe, the Maasai women build the bomas they live in with whatever sticks they can find for wattle and cow dung for daub (it doesn’t really pong when it dries). Then they cook indoors over wood fires. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? Anyway, here’s picture of one – if it’s anything like the ones the people I knew lived in, the height of that doorway will be about 150cm or thereabouts maybe 160cm, because I had to duck to go inside, and I was 170-something. The ones I was familiar with had more daub – better finished, maybe. http://www.wanderingtheglobe.com/photos/africa/tanzania/2007/masai/Masai-Boma-6848.JPG
@ eddjas…….Amazing picture! I was thinking about the toxic effects of a constant roomful of smoke, but was thinking of dark age Europe and not present day Africa. Of course I had never heard of “pargetting” and had to look up “wattle and daub.” Your comment reminded me of the pungent wood smoke odor in the air as you travel through an affluent neighborhood on a cold winter night when all the fireplaces in the big houses are going.
@ Tris…….Mostly I know about a couple of branches of the maternal side of my family, and most of that from a great grandfather who had many old letters and records from one side of his family. That family we know moved west from Kentucky and Tennessee into central Missouri in about 1835. More or less accidentally through my great grandfather I know where the farm was that my fourth great grandfather……that is, great great great great grandfather…….homesteaded. The original old log house was modernized and enlarged and existed until about 50 years ago when it was destroyed by fire. Even though that land had not been owned by the family for many years, my great grandfather maintained contacts with friends and distant family still in the general area and new a lot about it.
Tris……The early family that my great grandfather knew about seems to have come from 17th century Germany as far back as he knew generally. But that’s only one line. A lot of people who showed up in this part of the Midwest in the 1830’s came from Tennessee and Kentucky; and they got THERE with the early western migration that occurred after the revolution from the old British colonies on the coast. Lots of those people seem to have come from the Carolinas, and many were of Scots-Irish stock as I understand it.
I’ve thought of sending my DNA to Ancestry.Com and have them tell me my percentage DNA makeup from the various regions of the world. There’s usually some Native American DNA in American bloodlines of course, as well as African DNA from the days of slavery. Interesting I think!
The Boss thanks you for the glimpse of Lebanon in the three bridges gorge – stunning sight. She would like to gently point out that there are plenty more stunning sights in that beautiful country!
I loved the photos, Tris, and the ones of orangutans this week are particularly fine!
Sad news indeed about Gordon Wilson – he was a fixture of my adult life, as I’ve been an SNP supporter / voter since I came of age in the ’70s. Marcia, condolences – losing a friend is hard.
MUNGUIN'S NEW REPUBLIC 
Pretty pictures! Nice to see an American “Buffalo” again. Striking view of the bridge.
Ireland looks moody.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought it was high time he made an appearance. Ireland is amazing.
LikeLike
I backpacked around Ireland many moons ago, and yes, you could be served a pint alongside farmers with their sheep, folk posting letters, and an old bloke getting measured for a suit.
“Do you serve hot meals?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a menu?”
“Och, it will just be what me and me old fella are having for our tea.”
Those were the days.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely. I have to say (limited experience) that the Irish are the most friendly and lovely people I’ve ever met.
LikeLike
I was told my food was ready, and went up to the bar to fetch it.
Come behind the bar, and go through that door, I was told.
Sit down there and tuck in. I ate with the family, and others that had ordered food, at a long table in the kitchen. Thick ham slices and loads of spuds if my memory serves me right. Great stuff. I ended up sleeping on the floor in my sleeping bag next to a big fire that night. They wouldn’t let me go and pitch my tent in the rain!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome people. And that sort of thing was my experience when I was there.
Talk about going the extra mile (well, kilometre in their case!)
LikeLike
Juteman……Lovely story!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heh. Used to be a regular at the Albert.
LikeLiked by 1 person
OK, that went right over my head!
LikeLike
You naturally look at the bridge; I, having seen it out of my bedroom window ever since I was large enough to look oot the windae, see the pub where I spent many Saturday evenings getting drunk and fighting with matelots. The walk home over the road bridge at two in the morning could be beautiful, I saw the Northern Lights once.
Reminds me of a story. I spent a lot of time in the hostelries of Inverkeithing and North Queensferry – Large Naval presence meant lots of girls looking for sailors, but a long haired laddie with a motorbike would do.
Anyhow, met a guy who walked with sticks and asked him the story, being nineteen, drunk and tactless. He said that he had jumped off the bridge and smashed his legs. Drunk and tactless went “Eh?” “I jumped off before the water” D&T went “Why?”
“Ah cannae swim” came the response.
Hook, line and sinker.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Duh…
Sorry. All I saw was the bridge. You’re right.
Good story 🙂
LikeLike
The interesting old Albert Hotel caught my eye too. I’ve been curious about the old buildings in the UK and Europe that have chimneys with multiple round tubes sticking out the top. Apparently the way buildings with multiple flues for stoves and maybe fireplaces were built, but I’ve never seen anything like them in the states.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Goodness, Danny, we have more chimney pots than you guys… Wow!
Goes to prove the utter superiority of the British smoke removal system.
Erm, I think.
LikeLike
LOL…..Interesting! I wonder if what’s remaining of some of the old colonial architecture in the buildings of the East might have such things. Old Ben Franklin famously invented a heating stove that must have needed a small diameter flue. On the other hand, there are individual fireplaces in the various rooms of Mount Vernon, (George Washington’s Virginia plantation house, which is the original structure,) but the house only has two square chimneys. This is kind of chimney I seem to see on all American buildings where a chimney is visible.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Mount Vernon (chimneys):
LikeLiked by 1 person
Conan….Great story!
LikeLiked by 1 person
loved the Lebanese gorge and Palestinian building. And there was a red Panda – beautiful little creatures. Isn’t nature lovely. Thanks for the extra orang. Sitting behind a woman on the bus the other day and read over her shoulder that a smuggler had been arrested – lots of rare tortoises and he had two six month orangs in a CASE. The poor wee things cowered when it was opened but have been sent to nice humans running a sanctuary. Hope they lock the smuggler in a case and throw away the key 😦
LikeLiked by 4 people
I love nature. Looking back I wish I’d paid more attention when I was younger, maybe studied it and made a career out of it. Imagine working with animals or plants all day.
I reckon I’m a relatively tolerant person, but among a few things that get me really riled is any cruelty to animals.
I’m not sure if it is worse when they do it for money, rather than out of sheer badness.
The punishments I would hand down to people who inflict pain and misery on animals would make the Saudis look kind.
LikeLike
Baby animals are usually cute. But then we have that Joey who looks like something out of a horror movie. 😉
I assume that’s a kangaroo, but other things are called Joeys it seems. I found these Tasmanian Devil Joeys. They look cute at this stage, but we have to remember that Tasmanian Devils are sort of small kangaroos with anger management issues.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, he’s a kangaroo, Danny.
Munguin thinks he’s cute….so you might like to revise your opinion of him.
Off to look at youtube 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, we must value Mr. Munguin’s views of course. And kangaroos are certainly cute at a later stage of development, like the Devil joeys. Perhaps I’ll reconsider my first thought which evoked for me a creature in the bar scene of Star Wars. 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’ve found that it’s best, Danny, to stay on the right side of Munguin.
LikeLike
Maybe our high rainfall has something to do with the round chimney pots?
LikeLiked by 1 person
They often have or had sort of “lids” on them. I can’t remember what my granny called them, although strangely I seem to recall that she called them grannies.
Anyone help?
LikeLike
@ Juteman and Tris……..I first tried to find out something about these things when I kept noticing them in old historic pictures of London, Paris, Edinburgh, etc. But I didn’t know what to call them, so Google wasn’t of much help. When Tris used the term “chimney pots,” I knew what to call them and found lots of information. The general idea is that they reduced rainfall entry and improved the draft of a chimney…….particularly a large chimney which might serve multiple fireplaces. Odd that they are clearly available commercially, but I’d never noticed them in the States (at least here in the Midwest.) There are however all sorts of other rainfall covers for chimneys that I see in modern residential construction. Walking through George Washington’s “Mount Vernon,” I noticed how many fireplaces there are in the various rooms, but only two relatively modest sized square chimneys on the roof. (Unless there are others not so immediately visible from the front. My Mount Vernon tour time was limited.)
Speaking of Google and Wikipedia…….did you know we have a thing here that accommodates the modern middle class desire for a decorative fireplace in the living room? It’s a “fireplace” that’s not built from masonry at all, but is an insulated metal “fireplace insert”. And the exterior chimney of such an installation becomes a timber framed wooden enclosure around the metal flue. Looks cheap and tacky when it’s not then faced with decorative brick, and I thought it was simply a way for people who want a fireplace, but don’t have enough money to actually build a real one. Turns out that brick and other masonry fireplaces do not survive very well in large earthquakes, and in earthquake-prone zones like California, timber framed fireplace inserts are actually recommended (maybe required in some areas) by building code. You can then get faux-masonry facing that looks like brick…..sort of……from a distance.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I see that we got you in to one of your researches there Danny.
I often wonder what you would have done if you were old enough to have been around before Google and Wikipedia.
You’d have spent soooo much time at the reference library!!!
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I Googled various forms of “Granny” and “Chimney Pots” and kept coming up with references to “chimney cowls” which are clearly various forms of covers on chimneys and chimney pots to deflect rain and sometimes, to mechanically improve or direct air flow. This is a passage from a book about confusion with a teacher, when a kid apparently said that “grannies” are up on a roof.
https://books.google.com/books?id=CtAVDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT10&lpg=PT10&dq=chimney+pot+%22grannies%22&source=bl&ots=aJe35gd-ZS&sig=FHoiWqD_cvmxW1FSV5kAi2joFFs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjoxsi–dnUAhXCQBQKHXqCAcIQ6AEIQzAH#v=onepage&q=chimney%20pot%20%22grannies%22&f=false
The chimney pots (and maybe “grannies”) at Hampton Court are amazingly tall and decorative.
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/10/the-decorative-chimneys-of-hampton.html
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha ha… Thanks for your research Danny!
Grannies on the roof ….LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
Here’s hoping this ends up in the right place – it’s more about chimneys. One thing I know is that old “inglenook” fireplaces were pretty lousy technology – it took a while to discover that if you wanted the fire to draw properly, the opening of the fire place should not be more than 10 (?) times the area of the flue itself (cf. Count Rumford below.).
I’ve seized a bit of text on this, and I have to say that it was news to me that when you open up an old flue that’s been closed off in an old building, the rubbish in the old fireplace may be of archaeological interest… as for chimneys made of wattle and daub… yet another lousy idea. And I will never be able to look at a Brother Cadfael story in the same way now that I know the derivation of the name “Pargetter”. Extract from http://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=2142&p=0
“Chimneys were not widely used in domestic buildings until brick became
available in the late medieval period. Before this, most dwellings used open
hearths, with one large fire, typically in the centre of the building, for both
heating and cooking. The smoke would billow around the inside of the
building before escaping through gaps or simple louvres in the roof.
Some early chimneys were constructed of timber framing with wattle and
daub infill and are known as ‘smoke hoods’. If they are found in-situ or even
in use they are important and rare survivals of historic fabric and should be
conserved. Smoke hoods are sometimes unrecognised because a later
chimney with fireplace has been inserted at low level and a brick or stone
stack added above the roof.
The earliest brick chimneys were built over traditional open hearths. Wood
consumption was high, as most of the heat went up the chimney with the
smoke, while cold air was sucked in from the outside through the leaky
building fabric.
As comfort standards improved and buildings became more
compartmentalised, smaller fireplaces were required in more parts of the
building. This trend was aided by the growing availability of coal in the 17th
and 18th centuries, especially in urban areas. Coal burns more efficiently
than wood, providing more heat from a smaller fire. Coal fires benefit from
being in a grate that allows more oxygen to reach the burning coal.
In the 18th century the writings of Count Rumford, founder of the Royal
Institution in London, greatly influenced the basic design principles of
chimneys and fireplaces. A similar wish for improved efficiency provided the
impetus for filling in many earlier inglenook fireplaces.
As fireplaces became smaller and more efficient, so did chimneys. In the
18th and 19th centuries they became more and more complex, often
combining several flues, each serving a separate fire.
The divider between flues within one chimneystack is called a withe. Withes
were often slender, sometimes a single thickness of brick laid on edge,
sometimes thin cut stones or occasionally a single layer of slate. This
makes them vulnerable to damage when a chimney is swept, particularly at
bends and other complex flue configurations.
Most brick flues are lined to prevent gases escaping through joints and
cracks. The traditional method of lining chimney flues was to apply a mix of
lime putty and fresh cow dung, known as ‘parge’ as the chimney was built.
Parging continued to be common until the 1965 Building Regulations
introduced a requirement for all new flues to be built with a liner during
construction. During the 1960s the most commonly used flue liner was clay
pipes, though with further tightening of the regulations concrete and metallic
flue liners took over.
Chimney pots did not come into common use until the 17th century and early
18th century. Most pots seen today are 19th century or later.
The fabric of chimneys in historic buildings and debris that accumulates in
disused chimneys can be of archaeological importance. Care should be
taken not to lose historic fabric during the opening up of old flues or during
the process of making alterations to flues in historic buildings. Listed
Building Consent may also be required.” [Presumably that last bit applies in Scotland too.]
LikeLiked by 1 person
That was a good read. Makes you think of just how awful life must have been in the past.
LikeLike
@ eddjasfreeman……What an interesting read about fireplaces and flues! I like your comment about “pargetter.” (I also like Brother Cadfael.) And I now know what “wattle and daub” means. In the REALLY old days, the smoke of an open hearth fire in the middle of the room had to be really unpleasant. Fireplaces clearly illustrate a lot of history. I love the firewood rhyme. Thanks for posting.
As much of an improvement as fireplaces were, they surely had their limitations. The direct radiant heat from a fire can almost seem to burn you at close distance, even as a large quantity of heat is wasted up the chimney. Then when there is no fire, you have cold air coming down the chimney. Watching a modern homeowner use a decorative fireplace in the living space of a modern house, I was impressed with the constant work involved with the wood in keeping a nice bright flame going. Decorative “gas logs” that LOOK like a wood fire but don’t have to be tended would be my choice where there is a supply of natural gas.
As for fireplace history, our family traced its history back to land that was homesteaded on the Missouri (USA) frontier in the late 1830’s. My great grandfather told me that my great great great great grandfather (I think), as all early settlers, had as his first project the building of a log cabin and a stone fireplace and chimney for heating and cooking. The log building lasted through the generations and was later incorporated into a larger wood frame structure, as the fireplace was augmented with wood stoves, and finally a modern LPG gas heating system. The old house burned to the ground about 50 years ago, but I saw the location not very long ago, now marked only by the old stone fireplace and chimney standing alone in the middle of a farm field. Some old fireplaces on the frontier were built to last.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That too was interesting, Danny.
Where did your family come from?
LikeLike
Thanks, Danny! I’ve always been rather interested – oh, my father taught engineering (among other things) at the University of Strathclyde, I inherited some of his interests, I think! – in the technological side of common objects such as fireplaces. If you think about it, there wasn’t always such a thing as fireclay, for example. Well, I suppose there must have been, but no one had thought of turning it into firebrick.
As far as I can tell, just arguing from first principles, chimney-pots were beneficial by providing a (sometimes decorative) extension to the flue, increasing its drawing power, and because they are less weighty than brickwork, could push the height of the stack that bit higher than might otherwise be safe.
I expect there are other reasons for using chimney-pots – one of them being, perhaps, that as they are smooth inside and circular (usually), the flue gases flow less turbulently and faster, minimizing the size of the opening and reducing the amount of rain that can get in. With modern lined chimneys, I suppose you could say that they’re chimney-pot all the way down to the bottom of the flue.
There were various types of cowl (cowling) that you could find on the things, the general idea behind them being to reduce the blow-back you would get sometimes when wind conditions were right, and yes, to keep the rain out and stop birds nesting in them. It’s a pity we don’t have storks in Scotland any more, though! Last recorded breeding pair was in 1416… evidently it’s not just chimneys they build their nests on. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-26833379
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks eddjasfreeman……The evolving technology of utilitarian objects and systems is indeed an interesting study from an engineering perspective. I had been interested for a long time in chimney pots that are ubiquitous in old photographs of buildings in the UK and Europe, but I can’t ever remember seeing one in any old picture of early urban America. They must surely be there and I just haven’t noticed. I didn’t even know what they were called, but when Tris used the term “chimney pot”, then I had search words that yielded a wealth of information. I see that the makers of clay chimney pots use the fact that they provide additional effective height of the chimney in a light weight inexpensive way as one of the advantages. The decorative chimney stacks of the Tudor part of Hampton Court (the Henry VIII part that William III didn’t get around to tearing down) are both fascinating technology and works of art.
As you say, chimney pots must surely serve to improve the draft for the flue gasses and help keep water out. You often see a group of them on top of a large chimney that probably serves multiple fireplaces, and would otherwise I guess be a larger rectangular chimney opening. There are three groups of three on the front wall of the Albert Hotel in the bridge picture.
The comments in your article were interesting about how the interior structure of flues which connect with several fireplaces can be complex and can complicate cleaning. I was surprised at the number of fireplaces that are in the rooms of George Washington’s home in Virginia, and yet which seem to connect with only two rather modestly sized square chimneys (unless there are other chimneys on other parts of the roof that I didn’t notice.)
It does seem that safe operation requires more or less constant attention to cleaning and maintenance. Here in the states, it’s quite common for middle class homes to have a decorative fireplace. In years past, a masonry chimney was always visible, and they often have no cowling to repel rain (which in the Midwest for example can come in violent downpours.) Surprising that rain water is not more of a problem with fireplaces, and can apparently largely be absorbed on the interior surface of the flue and later evaporates.
More recently as I mentioned, fireplace construction here uses a relatively inexpensive metal “insert” that comprises the firebox, which connects to a metal pipe for a flue and chimney. So now on new houses I see bright metal pipes poking out of a square or rectangular timber frame enclosure, faced with whatever siding is on the exterior of the house. Looks cheap and tacky and I wonder how much more it would have cost to face it with decorative brick and make it look like a “real” fireplace chimney……LOL.
But as I also mentioned, such timber frame enclosures of metal fireplace pipes is apparently now preferred in earthquake-prone areas like California, since as I understand it, there’s not any really effective way to secure and stabilize masonry against the shaking of a large earthquake. (Not even a decorative exterior masonry facade which can fall on people.)
I have a friend at work who built a new house and went to the time and trouble and expanse to find someone who actually knew how to build a traditional fireplace with fire brick and masonry, etc. He’s very proud of his REAL fireplace.
Thanks again for all the interesting historical information. Including the news of the storks too. The legend here is that they bring babies of course, but I had no real idea of where or how they nested and migrated. 600 years was a long time to wait for them to come back to Britain……LOL.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, everyone! You know, there’s one thing I forgot to mention, and I really shouldn’t have, with my background with UN-Habitat, among other things. That is, in most of the Least Developed Countries, the main fuel for ordinary people is still wood (or charcoal) – keywords deforestation, desertification, among others.
Woodsmoke – and we all love the smell, don’t we? – is actually a major cause of morbidity and mortality when you’re up close and personal with wood fires a lot of the time, so women are particularly affected – I don’t need to go into gender stereotyping here, I’m sure, but just imagine having a wood fire in your living room – no flues – or in an outhouse out the back if you’re a bit wealthier. Not very good at all for the eyes and lungs, and there are loads of toxic chemicals in the smoke which you can’t even see.
Just à propos of nothing in particular, except pargetting, maybe, the Maasai women build the bomas they live in with whatever sticks they can find for wattle and cow dung for daub (it doesn’t really pong when it dries). Then they cook indoors over wood fires. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? Anyway, here’s picture of one – if it’s anything like the ones the people I knew lived in, the height of that doorway will be about 150cm or thereabouts maybe 160cm, because I had to duck to go inside, and I was 170-something. The ones I was familiar with had more daub – better finished, maybe. http://www.wanderingtheglobe.com/photos/africa/tanzania/2007/masai/Masai-Boma-6848.JPG
LikeLiked by 1 person
You must have had a fascinating career, Ed.
Thanks for that info. Most interesting.
And yes, a wood smoke fire smells good, but, I reckon, any smoke going directly into your eyes and lungs just has to be seriously bad for you.
I reckon we’d all like to hear more about your work.
Maybe you’d consider writing a post or two? Just something occasionally…
Any chance? Munguin pays handsomely I’m told. The Czech is always in the post… if not the Finn.
LikeLiked by 1 person
@ eddjas…….Amazing picture! I was thinking about the toxic effects of a constant roomful of smoke, but was thinking of dark age Europe and not present day Africa. Of course I had never heard of “pargetting” and had to look up “wattle and daub.” Your comment reminded me of the pungent wood smoke odor in the air as you travel through an affluent neighborhood on a cold winter night when all the fireplaces in the big houses are going.
Fascinating and enlightening discussion! Thanks.
LikeLiked by 2 people
@ Tris…….Mostly I know about a couple of branches of the maternal side of my family, and most of that from a great grandfather who had many old letters and records from one side of his family. That family we know moved west from Kentucky and Tennessee into central Missouri in about 1835. More or less accidentally through my great grandfather I know where the farm was that my fourth great grandfather……that is, great great great great grandfather…….homesteaded. The original old log house was modernized and enlarged and existed until about 50 years ago when it was destroyed by fire. Even though that land had not been owned by the family for many years, my great grandfather maintained contacts with friends and distant family still in the general area and new a lot about it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Danny.
Did your family originate in Europe?
LikeLike
Tris……The early family that my great grandfather knew about seems to have come from 17th century Germany as far back as he knew generally. But that’s only one line. A lot of people who showed up in this part of the Midwest in the 1830’s came from Tennessee and Kentucky; and they got THERE with the early western migration that occurred after the revolution from the old British colonies on the coast. Lots of those people seem to have come from the Carolinas, and many were of Scots-Irish stock as I understand it.
I’ve thought of sending my DNA to Ancestry.Com and have them tell me my percentage DNA makeup from the various regions of the world. There’s usually some Native American DNA in American bloodlines of course, as well as African DNA from the days of slavery. Interesting I think!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Fascinating, Danny.
Thanks… Danke!! 🙂
LikeLike
@ Tris:
Bitte!!
LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the red rock rose. Texture like tissue paper, and the flowers only last a day.
I could think of an analogy, but it’s Sunday.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Absolute beauty, Jutie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely photos to cheer one up after reading the sad news about Gordon Wilson who I campaigned with over many decades.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just heard, Marcia. Sad indeed.
Glad SS cheered you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Boss thanks you for the glimpse of Lebanon in the three bridges gorge – stunning sight. She would like to gently point out that there are plenty more stunning sights in that beautiful country!
PS: Who is George? Heh heh!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Be pleased to inform the boss that I was thinking of her when I selected it.
And that I’ll be very happy to select more in the future.
PS: LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
Who is George? Why, Gorgeous Gorge, of course!
I apologize. That was my evil twin. I hide my head in shame.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved the photos, Tris, and the ones of orangutans this week are particularly fine!
Sad news indeed about Gordon Wilson – he was a fixture of my adult life, as I’ve been an SNP supporter / voter since I came of age in the ’70s. Marcia, condolences – losing a friend is hard.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Ed.
LikeLike