One knows one is down to researching the very last details of building an authentic period country house when one gets down to looking at how one is going to detail the chimneys!
During the whole research process informative blogs such as Treasure Hunt have provided inspiration for many details. When discussing country house chimneys One can't but mention Burghley House, which we visited recently and will be the subject of another installment of the Great Estates Series.
Above: Victorian brick chimney pots. Lovely - but not for a Georgian house!
During the whole research process informative blogs such as Treasure Hunt have provided inspiration for many details. When discussing country house chimneys One can't but mention Burghley House, which we visited recently and will be the subject of another installment of the Great Estates Series.
The rooftop chimneyscape of Burghley...
Photo by Jonathan Foyle
Whilst there are many decorative chimney pots out there...
... we are going to stick to something more Georgian and more country house...
.jpe)
But the winner is this one, which is classic, stylish, and understated...
%201838%20-%201921%20A%20Quiet%20%20Moment.jpg)
Since the houses cannot possibly need that many chimneys to function well, we have to assume that almost all the chimneys are there to add a new element of elaborate decoration.
ReplyDeleteBut why not decorate around the doors and windows? What attracted the designers to look above the roofline, do you think?
I really don't have any idea. Even if that many were required, they are clearly taller and more elaborate than is necessary. My only thought would be that maybe it was simply a show of wealth. If running that many fires required fuel and staff, then it would say that the owner was very well off indeed?
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone else will be able to shed some light on the issue.
If I may join in, I believe that the fashion for tall elaborate chimney stacks was taken from France. They were designed to make a 'statement' upon the general view of the house. (At least that is what Bannister Fletcher states, in his book:A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method')
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, many chimney stacks meant many fireplaces which in turn meant wealth, especially at the time of the dreaded Hearth Tax when most people were required to pay for each working fire place that they possessed.
It might well have been a case of 'I have many more chimney stacks than you, and just to prove it I am going to make mine extremely ornamental and difficult to miss. Look at all those ornate chimneys that Cardinal Wolsey had installed at Hampton Court Palace.
I like the design that you have chosen, David: Classic in look without being ostentatious.
Bye for now,
Kirk
All of the flues would of been used originally. With the only way of heating a building back then being an open fire, every room would of had one, if not two large fireplaces. So the number of chimneys represents the number of rooms, roughly!
ReplyDeleteThere would be 4 to 8 flues gathering up to a single stack separated by midfeathers, or individual stacks linked together with brickwork for support.
All of the flues would of been used originally. With the only way of heating a building back then being an open fire, every room would of had one, if not two large fireplaces. So the number of chimneys represents the number of rooms, roughly!
ReplyDeleteThere would be 4 to 8 flues gathering up to a single stack separated by midfeathers, or individual stacks linked together with brickwork for support.