Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/313

 FIXTURES FOR COTTAGE DWELLINGS. 289 537 538 and hobs might be supplied to the grate, fig. 537, Iiaving the sides of the fiio at right angles to the front, as indicated in fig. 53?, in which o o are the hobs, formed of Welsh lumps, or fire stone ; p p p, 'clsh lumps forming tlie sides and back ; and q q, angles tilled up with mortar, or fragments of fire brick. In such fireplaces as fig. 533, a substitute for a hob may always be found in the movable bracket called a trivet, for hang- ing on the bars ; or by a similar stand with three feet, for setting before the fire. 601. An economical union of cast iron and jire stone or Jire brick is sometimes attempted by ironmongers, by lining iron cases with stone or brick, as in fig. 539 ; in which the front plates of the jambs, r r, and the plates which form the hob, 5 s, are of cast iron ; and the back and sides are also of iron, but lined with three fire stones, t i t. The iron back and sides are of no other use than to retain the stones in their proper places, and thus render this fireplace portable, and, in consequence, an article of trade for ironmongers ; since a much more eflective and less expensive fireplace would be produced by having only the covers of the hobs, the front plates of the jambs, and the bottom grate, of iron, and building up from the hearth, the jambs, and the back, of solid masonry, and on that placing the firestone. A grate built in this way is both economical and handsome, more especially if it has broad beveled front bars and an ash-drawer, as shown in figs. 534 and 537 ; but, as Mr. Tredgold observes, " ironmongers, in general, seem to think it more desirable to use. iron, than to economise fuel, or to work on sound principles." In the neighbourhood of Birmingham, and in the coal districts of the midland counties, where coal is abundant, and the inhabitants are fond of large bright fires, the bottom grates are made so -wide that cinders of con- siderable size are allov.'ed to pass through them. To prevent these cinders from being lost, and also to prevent dust from being raised, by sweeping up and carrj'ing away the ashes, what is called an ash-pan is often placed on the hearth between these fire jambs, immediately beneath the grate. This ash-pan, fig. 540, is a frame or box, with a grated top and a drawer underneath. The open spaces in the grating are about a quarter or three sixteenths of an inch apart, which is the width between the bottom bars of grates about London, and in most parts of the country where fuel is scarce and dear. In some places, the drawer or box is let into the hearth, and the grating over it is formed of brass wire, which gives a remarkably clean and warm appearance to the hearth, as no ashes can lie on the wires, which, from the reflection of the fire over them,' present a glowing hue to the eye. Where provision has not been made for this recess in the hearth, the same effect may be produced by a box over it, the outer rim of which should form the fender, which will look better, and be more effective, than the ash-pan, fig. 540, which only receives the ashes that fall directly under the grate ; leaving those which fall from the front bars to be swept up. By having the whole of the hearth within the fender formed of one shallow box, of which the fender is the outer rim ; by having this box co- vered with brass-wire grating, and the front bars sloping inwards, no ashes could ever be A^ X ,!X ■■-] r 1 1 L 1 ^lllilllilllllll!llllllT>| 540