Home was where the hearth was, Teesdale Mercury

Home was where the hearth was

Oct 30, 2007

FOR more than 100 years, an open kitchen range was at the centre of domestic life for most people living in Teesdale. These big black ranges have now largely disappeared from our living rooms taking with them the lifestyle and language that were associated with them.

Fewer and fewer people are left who remember what life was like when it was dominated by these friendly monsters.

If the range looked messy and uncared for, then it reflected on the whole house and, by implication, on the house-keeper.

Warmth, food and, in some cases, hot water were all provided by the kitchen range. No wonder so much care was lavished on it. And so many accessories were associated with it.

Almost the first act of the lady of the house when she got up was to rake out the fire, shovel out the ashes, clean out the air flues and sweep and wash the hearth.

Any minion in the form of a child could be called in to help, mostly by fetching and carrying.

Cinders were usually set aside for re-use. Ash was placed in a bucket - it came in handy in the outside toilet - whilst soot from the flues was used in the garden.

The poker, rake, tongs and hearth-brush and shovel used in this early morning ritual could be entirely functional implements or small works of art with handles of brass or stainless steel depending on the means of the house.

Hardware shops and general stores all had a ready supply of these items of ‘fire furniture'. Indeed there were all sorts of accessories that could be purchased to enhance the appearance or performance of these ranges.

The kitchen ranges themselves gradually improved and became more sophisticated throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. By the Second World War, most Teesdale ranges consisted of a central fire with an oven to one side and a boiler on the other. At first the water boiler was filled from a bucket but later a tap was often added above the boiler, which certainly made life easier for all concerned.

However, with or without tap, this was another job to be done before the fire was lit - the boiler needed to be checked and kept full of water. This was often the job of an older child - if one was available - and woe-betide them if they forgot to fill the boiler. I remember it well!

Laying and lighting the fire in the range was a well-established household ritual requiring some skill. Newspaper was used if available and sheets were rolled up and tied into knots or squiggles - another job for the children.

Then there was kindling to be collected if you lived in the countryside. Ling cowls were the best - they were the partly burnt and over-wintered stalks of heather. These were easily set alight and burnt hot and fast, but really any dried twigs would do.

If you lived in the villages or in Barney then sticks had to be acquired and chopped. Boxes used to transport fruit to the grocers were a useful source for sticks, or bundles of chopped sticks could be bought from the stick man. Coal was put on top of the paper and sticks. I suppose that peat or just wood was sometimes used in the fires but coal was locally available and was relatively cheap. The coal mines around Cockfield and Butterknowle were still operating in the 20th century.

If the sticks were damp or the wind was in the wrong direction, sometimes fires just wouldn't light. You could bet this would happen on a day when large amounts of baking were planned.

The fire-maker then resorted to the bellows, usually hung up at the side of the range and then to the blazer - a rectangular sheet of metal with a handle attached that was placed in front of the fire. Or you could just use a large sheet of paper instead. This, if I remember rightly, was a bit risky as it often caught fire. Does anyone else remember this?

Sometimes blazers and bellows failed to work and accelerants were used. These ranged from a handful of sugar and bits of candle or bacon fat to paraffin, which was a thoroughly dangerous last resort.

Once the fire was lit this wasn't the end of the story. A lot of skill was required to provide the right amount of heat for cooking cakes or bread. Large Christmas cakes or wedding cakes were a particular nightmare because for these the fire had to be kept at a constant relatively low temperature for hours at a time. Some women were particularly good at operating the oven flue dampers and managing the fire so that just the right oven temperature was maintained - but baking day could be a fraught time in the home.

At least once a week the whole range was thoroughly cleaned. The black part was rubbed over with black lead then polished with a special curved brush. The metal hinges on the oven and the reckin-crook and reckin - for hanging the pans over the fire - were all rubbed with emery paper and then paraffin wax applied to make the metal shine. The various fenders and stands and the clothes rod above the fire were often made of both iron and brass and of course these also needed to be made clean and shiny. Cleaning the range was an extremely dirty procedure and it was hard work as well.

Perhaps many of you, like me, have some affection for these old kitchen ranges, but when you remember how much time it took looking after them maybe it's a good thing they are now part of our history. What do you think?

First published in the Mercury October 24 2007