Fireplaces in Early Times

From the discovery of fire, man has always used fireplaces. The modern use of décor or ambiance was not on the minds of early cavemen. However, a way to harness and enclose fire was necessary to keep warm on particularly cold days and nights.

More importantly enclosures of fire were used for cooking food. They have always been the center place where people (families or tribes) gathered. Initially this was due to the warmth they provided in an era when heaters had not yet evolved. Later the comfort and homey feeling of the fireplace continued to have it serve as the central location for family gatherings or entertainment.

Ancient Fireplaces

In ancient times, there were no chimneys or fancy woodburning fireplace inserts. Smoke that would be produced by the fire was removed from the home via a hole in the ceiling.
When more architecturally sophisticated structures began to be built, one person’s ceiling was another persons floor in multi-level units. This led to the invention of the chimney.

Chimneys allowed for smoke to travel upwards through more than one floor in order to be let out into the sky.  This was of utmost important as the smoke that was the necessary output from the fireplaces in use would often be trapped by poor ventilation. Chimneys allowed for multiple levels to have proper ventilation throughout.

Many other advancements were made to the crude fire enclosures of the early days. These include:

Cast Iron
Grates
New Shapes

Cast iron was used to make the stoves which could heat whole rooms. Grates allowed for the fuel that was being burned (wood usually) to be raised from the ground, thereby allowing for more oxygen flow and better burning fires.

The shape of the fireplaces and stoves were also changed. They used developments in engineering to create boxes that directed the smoke upward and also concentrated the heat outward. This last invention is the basis for fireplace inserts of today.

Form over Function

The idea that fireplaces would be the centerpiece of a home’s design is a very modern idea. Cooking was moved to the kitchen almost exclusively and the fireplace was now mainly used for warmth and conversation. The intricate designs that accompany this change in use echo the move from utilitarian to decorative.

Wood burning stoves and fireplaces became somewhat commonplace. Recently there has been movements suggesting that the environmental impact of wood burning needs to be reconsidered. At its outset, wood was deemed the preferential choice for fuel for home heating. Even as the design portion overtook the heat portion of the fireplace equation, wood was still the fuel of choice.

Many modern buildings are opting for natural gas or pellet burning fireplaces. Natural gas fireplaces have come a long way from the blue log and meager flame. Modern gas burning fireplaces can fool even the most experienced fireplace connoisseur.

With fake logs that look like freshly cut cedar and rising flames that seem completely natural, these fireplaces show that ingenuity in the art form has far from run its course.