Coal Fires.

[volvojack]

I was thinking back to the days when i lived on the Gipton Estate, which was newly built and that we had just one coal fire to heat the whole house, plus coal was on rationing so people had to use it sparingly. Our coal man was Tommy Higo and he used to deliver with a horse and cart. when i was old enough my Mother used to put my brother and i on guard as he unloaded the sacks and put them on the privet hedge to be counted, it seems that a common thing was for the coalman to put an empty sack on with the full one. I remember my dad got some coal from somewhere and he hid it under our floorboards.
To supplement the coal ration a gang of us kids would sometimes walk up to Temple Newsam outcrop workings where there was always bits lying around. we would fill a sack and begin to drag it home. as the journey was quite far, getting to and going down Selby Road plus along Wykebeck valley Road little by little we discarded it piece by piece and by the time we reached home there was not a lot left. It turned out that even some of that was slate.
If it was anything like winter that night we would have coats on the bed to supplement the heat from the hot water bottle which was made of stone and when you woke in the morning and your feet were on it that was worse than the previous night.

Some Happy Days.

[tilly]

We had a Yorkshire Range the one that was made of cast iron with a built in oven on the right hand side.The build up of soot had to be raked out by lifting a iron plate and inserting a rod with a piece of plate welded upright on the end.The fire surround was black leaded very few weeks i even remember the brand name Zebo Black Lead, we used to go down to Meadow Lane Gas Works with a pram to get coke this was a by product after burning coal to make gas.In winter the bedroom windows could have ice on the inside it did not do to be soft in those days has the toilets were up the street with a six inch gap under the door.I would do it all over again given the chance this was in Hunslet by the way.

[volvojack]

Hi, Tilly,
My Aunt who lived in Blackman Lane off Camp Rd. had a Yorkist Range and it was heaven to call there, the heat given out was wonderful, funnily enough when i got married in the 1960s we bought a house in Burlington Place, Beeston and that had one of these in the cellar. also down there was its own entrance and toilet so guess these days that will be a contained flat with the range gone. also went with pals down to Meadow Lane Gas Works with an old pram, you would not get kids today lowering themselved to do such a thing.

[iansmithofotley]

Hi Jack,

There are a couple of current threads about Burlington Place on Facebook (Memories of Leeds), which might be of interest to you :

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MemoriesOfLeeds/

Ian

[Leodian]

Hi Jack .

The mentions of the Yorkshire Range and their associated Hearth Sets on pages 13/14 of this 'Things You Don't See Anymore' thread may be of interest:- http://secretleeds.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... &start=120.

The use of coats as blankets on the bed and the ice-covered windows in winter mornings brings back memories. Removing soot, chimney fires, mum baking bread are some other things that I recall relating to coal fires.

[tilly]

Hi Leodian my mum would make bread cakes in this oven not the pumped up rubbish we have today also Yorkshire Puddings in a big oblong oven tin eaten with onion gravy i can still remember the taste.Down the cellar was a set pot for boiling your cloths, also coal fired for the younger members on site the set pot was set in bricks with a a stone slab at the top this had a round hole in it i would say about fifteen inches across, under neath was a small fire place if you ever see a cauldron made from cast iron with three small feet this is most likely an old set pot.

[jma]

There must be plenty of older people who are familiar with coal fires, ranges etc. We certainly had one when I was growing up in Armley after the War and they were more common than not in terrace houses. However, having only a coal fire to heat the whole house didn't end with the Dark Ages. When we bought our first house, Dec 1969, it was a newly-built Wimpey house on the huge Ninelands estate at Garforth. That used a to be a mining area, of course, and the local authority Garforth UDC imposed a planning condition of a coal fire on all the houses. As we bought the house "off plan" we were able to specify minor modifications and we said no fireplace or concrete coal bunker. Nearly 50 years on, I can't remember all the details but Wimpey's wouldn't install the actual gas fire, although they did run a gas pipe to where the fireplace would have been since that could have been used for a gas-poker to light a coal fire, so they were within the planning consent. Whatever the details of how we got there, our house was heated by a single gas fire rather than a single coal fire. No double glazing in those days, so if it was freezing outside, it was Jack Frost on the inside of the windows.

[warringtonrhino]

When I began working in the fire service, coal fires were very common, and most appliances carried a ‘chimney fire kit’ comprising a folded canvas bucket, a stirrup pump and tarpaulin square with a small hole in the centre. Together with a set of chimney rods similar to those used by chimney sweeps, but instead of a brush, the top rod had a spray nozzle attached to a short length of hose.
When summoned to a chimney fire it was essential to establish if the property had more than one fireplace and if the flues were combined or separate. A quick look up the flue would give a clue as to how high the fire was. The tarpaulin was draped from the mantle shelf down to the hearth surround; this would catch any falling soot and keep the room free of debris. The bucket was filled with water and placed on the tarpaulin. The rods and hose were threaded through the hole in the tarpaulin and extended to the required height. The hose connected to the stirrup pump and water pumped up the chimney. I only had to use it on 3 occasions in 10 years, by the time I retired, the Leeds was a smokeless area, and very few properties had coal fires. I believe appliances in rural areas still carry a chimney fire kit to deal with incidents caused by wood burning fires.

[volvojack]

Hi warringtonrhino.
Your quote, "The tarpaulin was draped from the mantle shelf down to the hearth surround to catch any falling soot and keep the room fre of debris" reminds me of Laurrel and Hardy in "Dirty Work" where they are a couple of chimney sweeps which anyone can now view on Youtube along with all their other movies.. No offence meant by the way.

[volvojack]

Hi Jack .

The mentions of the Yorkshire Range and their associated Hearth Sets on pages 13/14 of this 'Things You Don't See Anymore' thread may be of interest:- http://secretleeds.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... &start=120.

The use of coats as blankets on the bed and the ice-covered windows in winter mornings brings back memories. Removing soot, chimney fires, mum baking bread are some other things that I recall relating to coal fires.

Many thanks for this Leodian, I have only got to page 10 and have not laughed so much for ages.