Healthful Warmth and Ventilation are to this day problems to be worked
out; and few practical subjects have so extensively enlisted ingenious
minds in their service. Yet, much remains to be done.
Dr. Arnott, the worthy successor of Count Rumford[41] in _heat
philosophy_, when seeking to shame us out of using ill-contrived
fireplaces and scientific bunglings, tells us that the savages of North
America place fire in the middle of the floor of their huts, and sit
around in the smoke, for which there is escape only in the one opening
in the hut, which serves as chimney, window, and door. Some of the
peasantry in remote parts of Ireland and Scotland still place their
fires in the middle of their floors, and, for the escape of the smoke,
leave only a small opening in the roof, often not directly over the
fire. In Italy and Spain, almost the only fires seen in sitting-rooms
are large dishes of live charcoal, or braziers, placed in the middle,
with the inmates sitting around, and having to breathe the noxious
carbonic-acid gas which ascends from the fire, and mixes with the air in
the room; there being no chimney, the ventilation of the room is
imperfectly accomplished by the windows and doors. The difference
between the burned air from a charcoal fire, and smoke from a fire of
coal or wood, is that in the latter there are added to the chief
ingredient, carbonic acid, which is little perceived, others which
disagreeably affect the eyes and nose, and so force attention.
With these facts before us, it is not difficult to imagine how our
ancestors tolerated the nuisance of wood smoke filling their rooms till
it found its way through the roof lantern, as was generally the case
until the general introduction of chimneys late in the reign of
Elizabeth. It should, however, be mentioned that the temperature of
their apartments was kept considerably below that of our sitting-rooms
in the present day. Before the fourteenth century, except for culinary
and smithery purposes, robust Englishmen appear to have cared little
about heating their dwellings, and to have dispensed with it altogether
during the warmer months of the year. Even so late as the reign of Henry
VIII. it seems that no fire was allowed in the University of Oxford:
after supping at eight o'clock, the students went to their books till
nine in winter, and then took a run for half an hour to warm themselves
previously to going to bed. Therefore, all ideas of the firesides of our
forefathers should be confined to four centuries.
The usage of making the fire in the middle of the hall, a lover of olden
architecture says, "was not without its advantages: not only was a
greater amount of heat obtained, but the warmth became more generally
diffused, which, when we consider the size of the hall, was a matter of
some importance. The huge logs were piled upon the andirons or thrown
upon the hearth, and the use of wood and charcoal had few of those
inconveniences which would have resulted from coal;" an opinion
strangely at variance with that of the heat philosopher already quoted.
We are now approaching the age of Chimneys. A practical writer has thus
pictured the domestic contrivance, _ad interim_: "The hearth recess was
generally wide, high, deep, and had a large flue. The hearth, usually
raised a few inches above the floor, had sometimes a halpas or daïs made
before it, as in the King's and Queen's chambers in the Tower. Before
the hearth recess, or on the halpas, when there was one, a piece of
green cloth or tapestry was spread, as a substitute for the rushes that
covered the lower part of the floor. On this were placed a very
high-backed chair or two, and foot-stools, that sometimes had cushions;
and above all high-backed forms, and screens, both most admirable
inventions for neutralizing draughts of cold air in these dank and
chilling apartments. Andirons, fire-forks, fire-pans, and tongs were the
implements to supply and arrange the fuel. Hearth recesses with flues
were common in the principal chambers and houses of persons of
condition; and were superseding what Aubrey calls flues, like loover
holes, in the habitations of all classes. The adage that 'one good fire
heats the whole house,' was found true only in the humbler dwellings;
for in palace and mansion, though great fires blazed in the
presence-chamber, or hall, or parlour, the domestics were literally
famishing with cold. This discomfort did not, however, proceed from
selfish or stingy housekeeping, but rather from an affectation of
hardihood, particularly among the lower classes, when effeminacy was
reckoned a reproach. Besides, few could know what comfort really was;
but those who did, valued it highly. Sanders relates that Henry VIII.
gave the revenues of a convent, which he had confiscated, to a person
who placed a chair for him commodiously before the fire and out of all
draughts."
On the introduction of chimneys, in the year 1200, only one chimney was
allowed in a manor-house, and one in the great hall of a castle or
lord's house: other houses had only the rere-dosse, a sort of raised
hearth, where the inmates cooked their food. Harrison, in a passage
prefixed to _Holinshed's Chronicle_, writes in the reign of Elizabeth:
"There are old men dwelling in the village where I remayne, who have
noted three things to be marvellously altered in England, within their
sound remembrance. One is the multitude of chimneys lately erected;
whereas, in their younger days, there was not about two or three, if so
many, in most uplandish towns of the realm (the religious houses and
manor places of the lords always excepted, and peradventure some great
personage's); but each made his fire against a reré-dosse in the hall,
where he dined and dressed his meat."
Numerous instances, however, remain of fireplaces and chimneys of the
fourteenth century, even in the hall, though they were more usual in the
smaller apartments. In the hall at Meare, in Somersetshire, the
fireplace had a hood of stone, perfect, finely corbelled out; and by the
side of the fireplace is a bracket for a light, ornamented with foliage.
It is curious to find chimneys constructed of so combustible a material
as wood. In the _Liber Albus_ of the City of London, 1419, it is ordered
by Wardmote "that no chimney be henceforth made, except of stone, tiles,
or plaster, and _not of timber_, under pain of being pulled down."
In the metropolis, we possess a hall of the fifteenth century, which has
a fireplace, the existence of which, in a hall of this age, is singular,
if not unique. In the north wall of the celebrated hall of Crosby Place,
Bishopsgate Street, is a fireplace with a low pointed arch. The builder
must have possessed a more refined taste than his contemporaries, and
feeling the inconvenience attending a fire of the old description (in
the middle of the hall) adopted the plan of confining it to the recessed
fireplace and the chimney.[42] Here we may mention the "smoke-loft,"
which seems to mean the wide space in the old-fashioned chimney.
It is curious to find that a tax was once paid upon a fire in England.
Such was "the smoke farthings" levied by the clergy upon every person
who kept a fire. The "hearth money" was a similar tax, but was paid to
the king: it was first levied in 1653, and its last collection was in
1690.
In the Tapestry room of St. James's Palace is a stone Tudor arched
fireplace, sculptured with H. A. (Henry and Anne), united by a true
lover's knot, surmounted by the regal crown and the lily of France, the
portcullis of Westminster, and the rose of Lancaster.
By a record of 1511, it appears that the hall-fire was discontinued on
Easter Day, then called God's Sunday. In the _Festival_, published in
the above year, we read: "This day is called, in many places, _Goddes
Sundaye_: ye know well that it is the maner at this daye to do the fire
out of the hall, and the black wynter brondes, and all thynges that is
foule with fume and smoke, shall be done awaye, and where the fyre was
shall be gayly arayed with fayre floures, and strewed with grene rysshes
all aboute." The andirons being cleared away, the space whereon the fire
was made, on the hearth, was strewed with green rushes; whence the
custom, in our time, of decorating, in the country, stove-grates with
evergreens, and flowers, and paper ornaments, when they are not used for
fires. Rushes were, at this time, much in use. At Canterbury, one of the
oldest cities in England, at the end of Mercery-lane, is pointed out the
site of the ancient _rush-market_, in which stood a great cross, painted
and gilt. We still employ rushes made into matting, for the floors of
churches.
Coal is first mentioned in 1245; but the smoke was supposed to corrupt
the air so much, that Edward I. forbade the use of that kind of fuel by
proclamation; and among the records in the Tower, Mr. Astle found a
document, importing that in the time of Edward I. a man had been tried,
convicted, and executed, for the crime of burning sea-coal in London.
Coal first came into general use in the north of England.[43] Wood
billets, however, long remained the principal fuel of the south; and the
contrivance for burning such fuel with economy was the first deviation
in metal from the rude simplicity of the rere-dosse towards the close
fire-grate. This consisted of useful iron trestles, called hand-irons,
or andirons, formerly common in England, and yet occasionally to be met
with in old mansions and farm-houses, under the appellation of _dogs_.
Originally, these articles were not only found in the houses of persons
of good condition, but in the bedchamber of the king himself. Strutt,
writing in 1775, says: "These awnd-irons are used at this day, and are
called cob-irons: they stand on the hearth, where they burn wood, to lay
it upon; their fronts are usually carved, with a round knob at the top;
some of them are kept polished and bright; anciently many of them were
embellished with a variety of ornaments." In another place, giving an
inventory of the bedchamber of Henry VIII. in the palace of Hampton
Court, including awnd-irons, with fire-fork, tongs, and fire-pan, Strutt
adds, "of the awnd-irons, or as they are called by the moderns,
cob-irons, myself have seen a pair which in former times belonged to
some noble family. They were of copper, highly gilt, with beautiful
flowers, enamelled with various colours disposed with great art and
elegance." At Hever Castle in Kent,--the family seat of the Boleyns, as
well as the property of Anne of Cleves, and which Henry VIII. with
matchless cupidity claimed in right of a wife from whom, previously to
her being beheaded, he had been divorced,--is a pair of elegant
andirons, bearing the royal initials H. A. and surmounted with a royal
crown. And, in an inventory of Henry's furniture in the Tower of London,
we find mentioned "two round pairs of irons, upon which to make fire in,
and for conveying fire from one apartment to another."
Shakspeare thus minutely describes a pair of andirons belonging to a
lady's chamber:--
"Two winking Cupids
Of silver, each on one foot standing,
Depending on their brands nicely."--_Cymbeline._
A middle sort of irons, called creepers, was smaller, and usually placed
within the dogs, to keep the ends of the wood and brands from the
hearth, that the fire might burn more freely. A pair of these irons is
thus described in one of the early volumes of the _Gentleman's
Magazine_: "There being in a large house a variety of rooms of various
sizes, the sizes and forms of the andirons may reasonably have been
supposed to have been various too. In the kitchen, where large fires are
made, and large pieces of wood are laid on, the andirons, in
consequence, are proportionately large and strong, and usually plain, or
with very little ornament. In the great hall, where the tenants and
neighbours made entertainment, and at Christmas cheerfully regaled with
good plum-porridge, mince-pies, and stout October, the andirons were
commonly larger and stronger, able to sustain the weight of the roaring
Christmas fire; but these were more ornamented, and, like knights with
their esquires, attended by a pair of younger brothers far superior to,
and therefore, not to be degraded by, the humble style of creepers;
indeed, they were often seen to carry their heads at least half as high
as their proud elders. A pair of such I have in my hall: they are of
cast-iron, at least two and a half feet high, with round faces, and much
ornamented at the bottom."
At Cotehole House, in Cornwall, may be seen a pair of richly ornamented
brass dogs, upwards of four feet high; and a few years since we remember
to have seen, in Windsor Castle, a pair of andirons faced with richly
wrought silver. Yet these articles are eclipsed by some costly items in
a list of wedding presents in the reign of James I. wherein is described
"an invention," namely, "fire-shovel, tongs, and irons, creepers, and
all furniture of a chimney, of silver, and a cradle of silver to burn
sea-coal." This expensiveness of material, in all probability, was not
matched by the manufacture, a disproportion which reminds us of the
_silver furniture_ in some districts of South America, where the earth
yields tons of that metal. Thus the proprietor of a productive silver
mine in Peru is known to have ejected from his house all articles of
glass or crockery ware, and replaced them by others made of silver.
Here, likewise, might be seen pier-tables, picture-frames, mirrors, pots
and pans, and even a watering-trough for mules--all of solid silver!
To return to the invention of grates. As the consumption of coal
increased, the transition from andirons to fire-grates composed of
connected bars, was obvious and easy. The andirons formed the
end-standards, which supported the grate itself, a sort of raised
cradle. Besides these supports, the back-plate, cast from a model of
carved-work (often with the arms of the family), was added; and
generally under the lowest bar was a filigree ornament of bright metal,
which, under the designation of a fret, still retains its place in
modern stoves. Movable fireplaces of the above description may be met
with about two hundred years old; for at this period, as the quotation
of the time of James I. proves, implements for the fireplace were in
use. A magnificent fireplace of the above description has been
manufactured for St. George's Hall, in Windsor Castle, so as to
harmonize with the architectural character of that noble apartment.
Convenience soon suggested the fixing of fireplaces, which led to their
being made with side-piers, or hobs, so as to fill the whole space
within the chimney-jambs; till the snug cosy chimney-corner is only to
be met with in farm-houses, where _dogs_ are used to this day.
It would be tedious to follow the improvements in fireplaces from the
first introduction of stoves, about the year 1780, to the present time:
from straight unornamental bars and sides, to elegant curves, pedestal
hobs, and fronts embellished with designs of great classic beauty.
Indeed, in no branch of manufacture are the advantages of our enlarged
acquaintance with the fine arts more evident than in the taste of
ornaments displayed in the stove-grates of the present day. The tasteful
display at the Great Exhibition of 1851 will doubtless be remembered by
the reader. "Grates," says the Supplementary Report of the Juries on
Design, "rank among the principal works in hardware to which ornamental
design is applied, at least on the English side; and there by far the
best specimens, both as to design and workmanship, are to be found: this
was to be expected from the general necessity for warmth in our cold and
variable climate; an Englishman's love for his fireside having passed
into a proverb."
By fire-irons are understood a shovel, a poker, and pair of tongs. These
implements were not all found on the ancient hearth; nor were they
necessary when wood alone was burnt. In the time of Henry VIII. the only
accompaniment of the andirons was the fire-fork with two prongs, a
specimen of which is preserved in Windsor Castle; still, in the
apartments for the upper classes, the irons for trimming the fire were
more complete. The use of coal and of close fireplaces led to the
adoption of the poker; and about the same period were introduced
fenders, the first of which were bent pieces of sheet-iron placed before
the fire, to prevent the brands or cinders from rolling off the
hearth-stone upon the wooden floors; but fenders have been improved with
stoves, till the display of our fireplace is the chief ornamental
feature of our rooms.
With these changes, however, the chimney-corner has disappeared, and is
but remembered in poetry, or the pages of romance.
A great deal has been written of late years in disparagement of the open
coal fire and the chimney, in comparison with the stove and flue; but
Professor Faraday has shown the chimney to possess very important
functions in sanitary economy. Thus, a parlour fire will consume in
twelve hours forty pounds of coal, the combustion rendering 42,000
gallons of air unfit to support life. Not only is that large amount of
deleterious product carried away, and rendered innoxious by the chimney,
but five times that quantity of air is also carried up by the draught,
and ventilation is thus effectually maintained.
Since the ascent of smoke up a chimney depends on the comparative
lightness of the column of air within to that of an equal column
without, the longer the chimney the stronger will be the draught, if the
fire be sufficiently great to heat the air; but if the chimney be so
long that the air is cooled as it approaches the top, the draught is
diminished.
It must not be supposed that the modes we have described were the only
means of heating houses with which our ancestors were familiar. The
Romans in England evidently employed flue-tiles for the artificial
heating of houses or baths. In 1849, a course of flue-tiles was found
upon a farm near Reigate, in Surrey; they were shown to have been taken
from some Roman site in the neighbourhood, and had been used on the farm
to form a drain; the apertures for heated air being covered by pieces of
Roman wall-tile, or stone, to prevent the soil falling into the flues.
One of these flue-tiles is ornamented with patterns, not scored, but
impressed by the repetition of stamps, to produce an elaborate design.
Several varieties of flue-tiles have been found: one from a Roman bath
in Thames Street; and a remarkable double flue-tile, found in the City
of London, and preserved in Mr. Roach Smith's collection in the British
Museum. These tiles were arranged one upon the other, and carried up the
inner sides of the walls of the rooms, to which artificial heat was to
be given from the hypocaust, or subterranean stove, by which means it
was easy to regulate the temperature. Pliny describes a bedchamber in
his villa warmed by the hypocaust and the tiles, with narrow openings.
Sometimes the floor and sides were entirely coated with these tiles.
The Curfew, or _Couvre-feu_, should be mentioned as an appurtenance to
the fireplaces in the Anglo-Norman times. The _couvre-feu_ formerly in
the collection of the Rev. Mr. Gostling, and so often engraved, passed
into the possession of Horace Walpole, and was sold at Strawberry Hill,
in 1842, to Mr. William Knight. It is of copper, riveted together, and
in general form resembles the "Dutch-oven" of the present day. In the
same lot was a warming-pan of the time of Charles II. In February 1842,
Mr. Syer Cuming purchased of a curiosity-dealer in Chancery-lane a
_couvre-feu_ closely resembling Mr. Gostling's; and Mr. Cuming
considers both specimens to be of the same age--of the close of the
fifteenth or early part of the sixteenth century; whereas Mr. Gostling's
specimen was stated to be of the Norman period. A third example of the
_couvre-feu_ exists in the Canterbury Museum; and early in 1866, a
_couvre-feu_--reputed date, 1068--was sold by Messrs. Foster, in Pall
Mall.
The _Couvre-feu_ is stated to have been used for extinguishing a fire,
by raking the wood and embers to the back of the hearth, and then
placing the open part of the _couvre-feu_ close against the back of the
chimney. The notion that all fires should be covered up at a certain
hour, was a badge of servitude imposed by William the Conqueror, is a
popular error; since there is evidence of the same custom prevailing in
France, Spain, Italy, Scotland, and many other countries of Europe, at
this period: it was intended as a precaution against fires, which were
very frequent and destructive, when so many houses were built of wood.
Besides, the curfew was used in England in the time of Alfred, who
ordained that all the inhabitants of Oxford should, at the ringing of
the curfew-bell at Carfax, cover up their fires and go to bed. It is,
therefore, concluded that the Conqueror revived or continued the custom
which he had previously established in Normandy: in fact, it was, in
both countries, a beneficial law of police.[44]