[Sca-cooks] Brick Ovens [Was: Your knowledge of ovens - ref:florilegium]

[Martin G. Diehl]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--
Greetings,

This message came to me recently.

Can any of us help with his inquiry?

Perhaps we should also put him in touch with his local
SCA group.

Ohhh and BTW, this shows the power of the Florilegium
-- thanks to Stefan.

I am,
Vincenzo Martino Mazza,
In Service to the Dream

--
Martin G. Diehl

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Your knowledge of ovens - ref:florilegium -
         HELP please!
   Date: Tue, 8 Oct 2002 09:32:51 +0100
   From: "philip" <pdmsm at btopenworld.com>
    To:

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   Brighton
   BN2 9HU
   East  Sussex
   United Kingdom

Tel: 01273 686936

e-mail: pdmsm at btopenworld.com

Dear Friend

I am writing to contributors of the internet document
florilegium.org/files/FOOD-UTENSILS/ovens-msg.rtf ,
in the confident hope that one, or more of you, may
be able to help with my research into an oven (see
attachments)

In particular, I should be most grateful if you could
be of some assistance in connection with my research
of, what would appear to be an early brick-built
bread oven.

I noticed this feature in the garden of a friend who
lives off the High Street in Marlborough, Wiltshire,
UK., and as I have recently undertaken an MSc degree*
in Conservation of Industrial Heritage, I have offered
to research, record and do some
stabilisation/conservation work on it.

According to one of his sets of house-deeds, this
feature is a ‘disused oven’, and my preliminary
readings suggest that it could have been a bread
oven (Brick-built, conical).

Dimensions of the main opening are approximately
5’ 10” wide, 4’ 3” tall and 3’ 6” deep.  The overall
structure is approximately 10’ high with a rectangular
chimney opening.

There are two recesses at the bottom, possibly for
wood seasoning, and a tall recess, possibly for dough
preparation to the left of the oven approximately
5’ 10” tall, 3’ 8” wide and 2’ 9” deep with a
half-domed top.

I should be very interested in your immediate
thoughts about usage (? Bread oven) and as to its
date, whether it was probably an external structure
originally or maybe the remains of an enclosed
bake-house!

I will be recording its dimensions and drawing a
detailed plan, together with writing a history and
specification as to recommended conservation.

I enclose a few digital photos of the structure.

One of my main queries, should it prove to be an oven
is that, with such a large opening, how was it closed
up in order for the bread to bake - ?bricks, a wooden
semicircular former or maybe even an iron door (the
latter would appear not to be the case as there is no
evidence of hinges or retaining devices).

I should be very interested in benefiting from your
knowledge of ovens, whether practical, archeological
or other, and further corresponding with you if feel
it is/would be appropriate or useful to your own
studies. I would also be happy for other suggested
lines of enquiry, documentary sources, archives,
photos etc.

I am surprised at the difficulty I am having at the
moment in getting information or even ideas as to this
structure's use etc.

I can be contacted by e-mail (detailed above), post or
by ‘phone (please leave message if unattainable)

Thanking you very much in anticipation of what promises
to be a very interesting piece of research and, should
it prove to be bread-related, I should be more than
happy to provide you with full details of my studies,
once written up.

Yours faithfully

Philip D Marini

M.Sc, Cert. Ed., Dip. Ed., ACP

(*In conjunction with the University of Brighton
    and the British Engineerium)

--
Martin G. Diehl
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