There must have been more cellars in the 50s. I think that many of the houses that had
cellars then have had them blocked up since. Although some people had coal bunkers or
coal sheds to store their coal, many had coal cellars; the coal man would not
carry the coal down to the cellar but many houses with cellars had chutes at
the front or side of the house into which the coal could be tipped. The coal
man would hoist a sack on to his back from his cart which in some cases was
pulled by a horse. A sack of coal was one hundredweight (written as cwt) which
is about 51 kilogrammes. The coal man had a leather protector over his back and
shoulder which may have been fixed to a hat. Loved the noise the coal made as
it went down the chute. Coke was kept separately. I think that coal was
collected from the cellar in a coal scuttle and coke in a hod.
1 comment:
Yes, I can remember the coal delivery men from 'Charringtons' carrying one hundred weight sacks of coal into the side entrances of houses in London. A gentleman mentioned the leather hats and fixed back protectors that the men wore at that time. They also wore a sort of leather apron. I would stand outside my house as the men delivered the coal. I absolutely loved the smell of it. That, of course, was before they started bringing smokeless fuel. Oh, how I'd love to experience that smell again.
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