Fresh air and foul: The role of the open fireplace in ventilation the British home 1837-1910

26th October 2023

Britain’s urban atmosphere

Francis Albert Rollo Russell (Son of former Prime Minister Lord John Russell)

Thick smoke-filled winter smoke fog had seriously disrupted life and trade.

1) House smoke was primarily responsible for defacing the city historic architecture, blocking sunlight, destroying vegetation, increasing household washing and cleaning bills and most importantly endangering people’s health.

2) Sulphurous smoke appears to reduce the occurrence of asthma and other respiratory diseases.

3) A lack of caution in preventing smoking during the late January and early February fogs, leading to the worsening of a pre-existing lung ailment.

4) Coal emissions from over a million chimneys coupled with dense fog may have contributed to more lethal outcomes than animal slaughter.

Smoke from house is a larger harm than smoke from mills.

It caused by the breakdown of coal on the surface of fire occurs at far lower temperatures than those found in any area of a mill furnace, and the smoke generated is of a noily character, making it dirtier and more effective as a for- forming than the less oily smoke produced by mill fire fuel.

Smoke during winter

Compare the coal burn of mill and house.

1) Mill is burning more coal and sending up a black cloud of smoke.

2) The home coal burns less coal, but the comparably little amount of coal burnt significantly more soot into the people' lungs, clothes, and dwelling.

The open coal fire (19th and early 20th century)

The government dreaded the ramifications of enacting law that implied with a citizen freedom to enjoy the highly popular institution of the open coal fire.

Authority’s action

It is nevertheless reluctant to take serious action against household smoke since the traditional open fire is generally regarded as a more hygienic choice for residential heating than the proposed alternative.

Population densities increased.

Concern about the domestic side of the nation’s air pollution problem began to grow:

1) Too many people were squeezed into too little domestic space.

2) Environment quickly become polluted and possibly fatal.

So, what were the biggest environmental health dangers supposed to hide within the British home?

Carbon Dioxide produce by human respiratory and fuel burning.

Spend most of the time locked within home.

Air is change.

Carbon dioxide level is growing from the combustion of fossil fuel may be causing global warming which proposed the negative impact of excess carbon acid added to the air of ‘close’ room via the lung.

Women, children, and domestic workers are especially vulnerable to the effects of living in a dirty household environment, as their lungs grow sick, their blood becomes poor, and their urine becomes watery.

1) Our bodies continually releasing compounds that serve as a food for plants but poison for animal

2) If air is changed, we are surrounded by poison and will certainly experience the effects.

Anxiety about the bad air

Poor, rich, ignorant and learn is let to build in occupied room led to an almost addictive interest with air space and air movement in home or apartment.

Working women’s college: a) measure the cubic area of their apartment to ensure each occupant received a sufficient allotment of good air. b) Keep the atmosphere natural with a proportion amount of fresh air per person required to be forced through an occupied room in the duration of one hour

Concerned about air accumulating in the home.

People should live with their doors and windows open to the breeze throughout the summer months, and even during the winter when the doors are closed firmly, windows should be left open at least an inch to allow in much needed fresh air.

Preferred open coal fireplace over smokeless closed stove and gas heater.

The open fireplace is avital characteristics of British comfort and British health but some contemporaries suggested it might be a perfect ventilations and used the cheapest rather than bituminous coal but however the coke difficult to light and could not produce a decent flame as well as is smells like poverty and many working-class individuals boasted about never having used it.

Summary

1) While concerns about comfort, expense, and individual liberty dominated in official arguments over household smoke control, there is no question that health-related ‘ventilatory propaganda' also had a role in shaping popular perceptions of the subject. T

2) he traditional open fire was much admired by contemporary people for its ventilation abilities as well as its welcoming ‘homely' qualities.

3) Burning an open coal fire was one of the greatest and most satisfying ways to ensure a sufficiency of air' within the dwelling.

4) Demonstrate that the ‘hygienic’ function of the fireplace should not be overlooked when considering why in an age of smoke, the state found it so difficult act decisively in the matter of controlling domestic air pollution in Britain.