There is a history for everything, and without an exception the chimney and fire place cover their own interesting history. In the temperate regions, the use of wood to heat the shelters of men is older than the written word. In the 1700s, iron smelting was found to produce heat efficiently. And it is in the 19th century where the fire place began to be popular. Importantly too, this is when men realized the social and aesthetic value of a fire place, and not just its functionality. To have a fire place is to have class; and it provided a quaint and cozy ambiance in the home.
As time went by, housing fashions and designs changed, and fire place designs changed as well. The advance of technology provided better means and innovative features to the fire place that increased its efficiency, quality and beauty.
The basic technology of the fire place remained constant through time. Fire place technology basically consists of the insert and the surround. The former is where the fire actually burned, and the latter is the sides and the mantle.
Geniuses tend to remain as such wherever they put their minds into. Enter Benjamin Franklin, a national institution, who also played a part in the improvement of the fire place. He invented the so-called Franklin stove. It is a fire box that is free standing, the first of its kind. He also discovered that if a heavy cast iron was used, it still can produce heat even if the fire had already gone out.
Franklin’s creation was further improved by Philadelphian David Rittenhouse. He added an L-shaped stove pipe to move the air through the flames and then push out the smoke up the chimney. This became a widely used feature.
Fire places have been traditionally used to provide heat and warmth, as well as heat and cook food. But they also have the added social function of being the centerpiece of the home, where people gather and socialize in the evenings. The original fire place was called a fire pit, and was originally located in the center of the home, because there they were efficient in giving a homogenous heat all throughout the place. But with the advent of the two-storey house, it became necessary to move the fire place to the side of the house on the wall, in order that the chimney can be positioned outside the wall. The invention of the chimney is arguably the most important invention in fire place tech.
In the 17th century Prince Rupert created an improved grate that raised the wood up, thereby letting in air under it, increasing oxygen to fuel the fire. Then Count Rumsford provided a new design incorporating streamlined throats and tall, shallow fire boxes which lessened the fire-catching hazard of chimneys.
The 20th century saw the invention of centralized heating, relegating the fire place mostly to a lesser social function. Nevertheless, fire places never went out of use. Prefabricated fire places became popular. And many other innovations came into vague in line with technological advances. And during the Depression, President Roosevelt made use of the evening time when families gather by the fire, to address the country with his so-called fireside chats.
So the next time the fire place cover is either placed after the winter or laid aside during the ever-increasing cold of the fall, remember the place that the fire place occupies in the history and consciousness of men everywhere.