Chimney Pots!.......

.........for some unknown reason I have suddenly been noticing how many different types of chimney stacks and pots there seem to be!

Am setting myself a personal little challenge to see how many different ones I can find within a 10 mile radius of my home.

I have a couple of appointments today so won't be venturing much further than I have already to the corner shop for some bread and saw these - although they are rather unexciting, they are a start and made for a Blipquickie!

BOUI :-

1) Chimney sweeping developed as a necessary profession as a result of two innovations… the invention of the chimney and the use of coal as a fuel source for heating.
The chimney has been a part of family life since the early Romans first realised that it was better to live in a nice, fire-warmed home than in a chilly one. They constructed the chimney and flue as a way to funnel off the smoke caused by log fires out to the roof. However, for centuries, few homes had adopted this practice and homes were heated primarily by a central wood fire burning on hearthstones that was situated in the middle of the room or against one wall.

2) During the 17th and 18th centuries, citizens were subject to a hearth tax. The amount of tax paid was determined by the size of the house, which in turn was determined by the number of chimneys that were present. To reduce the tax burden, flues venting the additional fireplaces were added within the existing chimney spaces and these would often connect together in a complicated maze of completely dark tunnels. As the number of flues within the chimneys increased, their sizes decreased. As such, flues became increasingly narrow.

3) . Soot! Sweep! Oh’ – that was the famous cry of chimney sweeps as they wandered the streets looking for work. Imagine getting up at 3am to climb up and clean 30 chimneys before tucking into a bread-and-butter breakfast. That’s what lots of boys and girl sweeps did in Victorian times! Children swept chimneys for more than 200 years in Britain before the law changed.

4) It is interesting to note that early on, chimneys were swept for free. A chimney sweep made money by selling the soot to farmers and gardeners as a soil fertilizer. This provided a good source of income for the chimney sweep that lasted until the late 1800’s when chemical fertilizers became available. Enterprising chimney sweeps also had special boxes to compress the soot into bricks which they also sold for additional income.

5) Elizabeth Montagu - respected by both upper and lower classes - was born on October 2nd 1720 to rich and well connected parents. Elizabeth later became the top party hostess in London society. She used to entertain the chimney sweeps once a year on May Day at her mansion, Montagu House. Each climbing child enjoyed a roast beef and plum pudding feast with dancing. They were also given a shilling coin which must have seemed a fortune to those poor kids!

N.B. I hope to find some MUCH better examples of chimneys and pots over the next few weeks - todays effort is far from thrilling!!!!!!

If I had a coal fire, I might be tempted to light it this evening or even earlier as it is, so far, very dull and not all that warm - and just to cheer things up a bit. Temperature is about 50 Deg.F.

Hoping the people with whom I have appointments turn up or I shall have wasted nearly a whole day and I shall be cross!