Skip to main content

Rumford

The Rumford is a much more efficient way to heat a room than earlier fireplaces....
(Wikipedia on Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, designer of tall, shallow fireplaces which are now known as the Rumford, was an Anglo-American physicist known for his investigations of heat)
Living in the tropics, I have been in close proximity with only three fireplaces in my life. There was an unused one in the home of my college professor in the Philippines. The other one from which I could feel the heat and see the fire dancing was in a hotel lobby in the Yorkshire Moors. Picture taking was quick. Two old ladies were having tea by it, but that was my first ever real fireplace experience, and I loved it. The latest I have touched is the one in Jane Austen's imaginary Northanger Abbey.
The fireplace, where she had expected the ample width and ponderous carvings of former times, was contracted to a Rumford, with slabs of plain though handsome marbles, and ornament over it of the prettiest English china.
Fireplaces. What charming spots they are!


This post is linked with ABC Wednesday.

Comments

photowannabe said…
Never really thought about people not being around fireplaces. It really is a cozy thing. Love your shot of this one.
MaR said…
And I am enjoying mine right now!! r is for...
Carver said…
Interesting post about the Rumford. I need to get a chimney sweep in as my fireplace isn't drawing well.
Rajesh said…
I have never experienced a fire place so far.
We have a non-working fireplace. Meh.
This one's nice, though.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
anthonynorth said…
Oh, I'm used to fireplaces. I was born and bred just off those Yorkshire Moors.
Great words.
VioletSky said…
I've always wanted to live in a house with a fireplace. Central heating is very good, but you can't look at the vents and dream....
That is a beautiful fireplace. It oozes warmth. I love fireplaces and tending the fires in them. Alas, we moved and have no fireplace...
great post - never heard of these before
Berowne said…
Which one did Santa come down? :-)
J.Rylie.C said…
Very cozy fireplace!

My R is about Raking Leaves, please come and see.
Hi Hazel. Thanks for your comment on my blog post. I also wrestled with my son (who also didn't like going to school) - whether to homeschool him. In the end, I decided not to. I took A LOT of time looking into the schools in our town. I found two GREAT ones (elementary and high school) - middle school was horrible. I wish you a lot of luck and if you want to talk about options, I'd love to hear about it!
Chubskulit Rose said…
Wow sis, dami mong stored knowledge hehehe.

Rosary Beads

Join ka uli sa Nostalgia bukas, mwah!
jill said…
Hi,Im sat infront of mine now as I type this to you and in North yorkshire.Love Jill xx
Hazel said…
Awww how lovely, and very nostalgic for me. Thank you Jill xxx
mrsnesbitt said…
I too am by my burner - log burning Rayburn, also in North Yorkshire! How funny! lol!
Thanks so much
Denise ABC Team
Hazel said…
Wow this is getting cozier :) Thank you Mrs Nesbitt.

Popular posts from this blog

The Hunchback of Abella

A Duet When I was about 8 years old, I sang Something's Happened to Daddy in church. My father was not a church-goer so the guy I sang with was my mother's friend's husband. Papa keeps coming to my mind these days. January is the month he was felled by a massive coronary. Next week on the 14th is the anniversary of his death. The only times he ever set foot in church were during weddings and funerals of family and friends. I remember him being present in church eagerly when I was a flower girl at an aunt's wedding. Finally he entered church one more time. At his own funeral. I made sure church was the very place he went to before the cemetery. I only wished he was the one I sang with. Amy hosts head over to Signs, Miracles and Wonders for more music or to join ************************************ Guns n' Roses and the Hunchback of Abella My childhood was what can most likely be called normal. There was a balance of happy and sad memories. Today's

Sense and Sensibility: 200th anniversary

In 1811 Thomas Egerton of Whitehall, London published Sense and Sensibility . Quick math shows it has been two centuries since Jane Austen became a full-fledged author. Quite an anniversary, indeed. A celebration, I declare . Blogs regarding the publication anniversary of this romance novel picture Jane Austen 's engagements whilst making the final touches of her manuscript from Sloane Street. In letters to her sister Cassandra, Jane gave accounts of her shopping for muslin, the party that their brother Henry and SIL Eliza gave; mentioned several acquaintances, and referred to her book as S and S . As a fan I wonder which between sense and sensibility did JA deem more important since she portrayed both attributes equally well. I'm obliged to enthuse over my S & S reading experience. Alas, I only managed fourteen chapters before getting sidetracked by another novel, the very first that JA wrote. I will resume and complete my affair with the celebrant before 2011 end

Thirteen 13-word Quotes

1. I may be wrong , but I have never found deserting friends conciliates enemies. Margot Asquith , British Political Hostess (1864-1945) 2. Man's love is of man's life a thing apart; Girls aren't like that Kingsley Amis , English novelist and poet (1922-1995) "A Book Idyll" ~ see possible origin, also a 13- word quote: M an's love is of man's life a thing apart, 'Tis woman's whole existence Lord Byron (1788-1824) 3. An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last instalment missing. Quentin Crisp , English writer The Naked Civil Servant (1968) 4. Happy the hare at morning for she cannot read the hunter's waking thoughts. W.H. Auden , English poet (1907-73) Dog Beneath the Skin 5. Kissenger brought peace to Vietnam the same way Napoleon brought peace to Europe. (by losing) Joseph Heller, American novelist (1923- ) 6. Guns aren't lawful; Nooses give; Gas smells awful; You might as well live. Dorothy Parker ,