Posted by David Bamford on April 18, 2005 at 02:01:51 from 220.253.36.178 user David.
In Reply to: Re: Mrs. DIXON cooking over open fire posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on April 17, 2005 at 00:34:47:
After having their Birmingham house flattened by the Luftwaffe, my grqndparents relocated to a farm labourer's house in deepest Warwickshire. This had a open cooking fire flanked by cast iron ovens, all inside an arched recess. An iron arm with a hook and chain swung out from the back wall of the recess to suspend the kettle over the fire. All the cooking was done over this open fire. My grandfather worked as a railway porter, and was able to get redundant, used sleepers for firewood. The creosoted pine burnt very well, I understand. He would rest one end of the sleeper in the grate, and the other end perched on a fruit crate out in the room. As the sleeper burned down, it would be fed into the fire, which was kept burning continuously. I suspect that Mrs Dixon had a similar installation,although she may have burnt coal as well as wood.
David.