The Coal Hole Hall of Fame ………no. 6 …… one road seven covers

Now I am impressed.

Back in 2019 Karine discovered seven coal hole covers on Kirkside Road in Blackheath, and quick as a flash she photographed them and sent the images across.

What strikes me is that not only are they in good condition, but there are five different designs, with two  carrying the name of Peppercorn Brothers, Deptford, who according to one source, were provision dealers, dealing in “Furniture, Carpets, Pianos, Lino, and Second-Hand furniture”. *

“John Peppercorn was born in 1843/4 and died in November 1915.  He was a businessman and local politician active in south east London.

Born in Deptford, he was one of several sons of Joseph Peppercorn, a Bedfordshire born grocer and cheese monger and his wife Ann Howard née Down from Devon.

After serving an apprenticeship, John set up in business as a grocer by 1870, when he married Florence L Poulton from Torquay.

His business prospered and by 1898 he was described as a large draper or merchant. 

In that year he won a seat as a Progressive Party member of the London County Council representing Greenwich. 

He only served a single three-year term on the county council, standing down at the 1901 elections.

When the first elections to the Metropolitan Borough Councils were held in November 1900, Peppercorn stood for election to Deptford Borough Council but was defeated, with the Moderate Party gaining control. By 1905 he had gained a seat and served as Mayor of Deptford for 1905-06.

His business became a limited company, Peppercorn Brothers Limited of Greenwich and Deptford, and he retired to Lee, where he died aged 70”. **

Now there is a lot more research to do on the man, and the firm, and at the end of it we may discover that his is not our man.

In the meantime, I will just leave you with the five, and thank Karine for taking the trouble to photograph them.

I would happily send her a gold-plated coal hole cover, but I couldn’t stretch to such an expensive exercise.

 I have however inducted the seven in the Coal Hole Cover Hall of Fame.

Location; Blackheath














Pictures; coal hole covers, Kirkside Road in Blackheath, 2019, from ye collection of Karine Lepeuple

*There is a picture on the Bexley Archive of a shop front of Peppercorn Brothers, dated 1900 which announces that the firm sold,  “Furniture, Carpets, Pianos, Lino, and Second-Hand furniture”.

*Shop front of Peppercorn Brothers Provision Dealers, Deptford c.1900. Images from Bexley Local Studies and Archives, https://www.boroughphotos.org/bexley/dew172/

**John Peppercorn, London Wiki, https://london.fandom.com/wiki/John_Peppercorn

Even coal holes cover can be mysterious ……. out in Greenwich

Now, I have a new obsession, and it is those iron coal hole covers, which have all but vanished.

Once they were a feature of most houses, came in all sorts of designs and some carried the name of the iron foundry where they were made.

They were the point where the coal man poured the coal down into the cellar, and I just can’t get enough of them.

A few days ago, I made an appeal for pictures and was impressed by the number of people who share my love of all things coal and metal.

And so here are two, sent in by Steve Smith, and because I grew up in Eltham just south of Woolwich, the first is my favourite.

I went looking for Lloyd and Sons, and although I came across some promising leads I have yet to find them in Woolwich at the time their coal hole cover was made.

But I bet someone will have chapter and verse.

And I am hoping that they can help with the second which looks to have the name Deptford and Lewisham on the cover.

I think the image has been reversed and I am useless at decoding such things.

Steve tells me both came from Greenwich.

And the rest as they say awaits developments.

Leaving me just to repeat the appeal for pictures of iron covers, which don’t have to be coal, I am happy to receive all sorts.

And just after I posted the story, Michael C Wood sent over a corrected version of the last cover with the comment, "Here’s a flipped version of that cover.  Just opened it in ‘Paint’, and Rotate/Flip Horizontal".

Location; Greenwich

Pictures; coal hole covers, dates unknown, from the collection of Steve Smith

Even coal hole covers can be mysterious ... out in Greenwich with a puzzle

Now, I have a new obsession, and it is those iron coal hole covers, which have all but vanished.

Once they were a feature of most houses, came in all sorts of designs and some carried the name of the iron foundry where they were made.

They were the point where the coal man poured the coal down into the cellar, and I just can’t get enough of them.

A few days ago, I made an appeal for pictures and was impressed by the number of people who share my love of all things coal and metal.

And so here are two, sent in by Steve Smith, and because I grew up in Eltham just south of Woolwich, the first is my favourite.

I went looking for Lloyd and Sons, and although I came across some promising leads I have yet to find them in Woolwich at the time their coal hole cover was made.

But I bet someone will have chapter and verse.

And I am hoping that they can help with the second which looks to have the name Deptford and Lewisham on the cover.

I think the image has been reversed and I am useless at decoding such things.

Steve tells me both came from Greenwich.

And the rest as they say awaits developments.

Leaving me just to repeat the appeal for pictures of iron covers, which don’t have to be coal, I am happy to receive all sorts.


Postscript .............. and a thank you to Sue Hennessey and John Baker who instantly recognised the back to front name in the middle of the second cover as Haycraft & Son.

Location; Greenwich

Pictures; coal hole covers, dates unknown, from the collection of Steve Smith

Another Chorlton coal hole cover for the collection …

I collect coal hole covers.

Now I grant you that may seem odd, given their size and weight, but they are in the way a powerful bit of history.

If you are lucky they will have the name of the manufacturer and possibly a location.

And even if there is no name they are a reminder of a time when pretty much all our homes, offices and factories were heated by coal.

If you are of a certain age the weekly visit of the coal man sat beside milk deliveries, the newspaper through the door and the grocery boy on his bike.

I can still remember the sounds and smells that accompanied the visit of our coal man.

It began with the thundering rush of the coal down the shute, followed by a quieter noise as the stuff settled, and with it came that distinctive smell which permeated the lower half of the house and seemed to hang in the air for hours.

Coal house covers are disappearing, and so when ever I see a new one I added it to the collection.

This one is from Rani who lives on Reynard Road and who kindly sent it over.

Location; Chorlton

Picture; the Reynard Road coal hole cover, 2021,  courtesy of Rani Prasad

The Beech Road coal hole covers cling on ...... now that's a zippy title

I have just added two more of those iconic iron coal hole covers to the collection.

Now, they are not the sort of thing you can put on a shelf in the front room, and I think they are best seen  in situ.

The trouble is there are fewer and fewer of them to see.

Once they were everywhere, coming in different shapes and designs and emblazzoned with the name of the manufacturer, which offered up a fascinating trail of research.

But no more.  Many have been taken up and gone to scrap merchants, while others and been covered with concrete with varying levels of success.

All of which is a shame, because they are a reminder of howe used to live when "Coal was King" and many are still elegant pieces of design.

These too are less so, and nether as a name, but they are still there on Beech Road and that is enough for me.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; Coal hole covers, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Coal hole covers, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Coal%20hole%20covers

Coal Holes I have known …… or what do you do on a Saturday in Chorlton?

There will not be many who walk the streets of Chorlton looking for coal holes, but as I also delight in tracking down horse troughs and redundant vending machines, the odd coal hole is par for the course.*

Wilbraham Road, 2019

Once, they were as common as telephone kiosks, but now have pretty much vanished from our streets, along with the coal man, daily milk deliveries and the Corporation tram.

A few remain, but most have been lost to scrap merchants or cemented over and so when I come across one it is always added to the collection.

And today there are two, one from Wilbraham Road, and the other just around the corner on Barlow Moor Road.

Both fascinate me, but it is the first that I was drawn to because of the name Gilbody which appears at the top of the cover.

Selling all that is metal, 1895

In 1895 A. Henry. Gilbody was trading from 51 and 53 Bridge Street with their works on Windmill Street which ran between Bridge Street and King Street West.  They described themselves as "zinc and manufacturers of marble, enameled slate and iron mantel pieces, Kitchen ranges, register grates, iron founders, and dealers in brass, copper, iron, and galvanized iron in sheets, tubes, bars, nails, screws, tacks, and every description of builders’, plumbers’, bellhangers’, cabinet makers’ upholsterers’, mill and colliery furnishings”.

And as well as supplying coal holes to the residents and businesses of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Mr Gilbody was living at Barway House on Edge Lane.

They were still trading on Bridge Street and has set me off looking for them back beyond 1895 and on through the next century.

On Barlow Moor Road, 2019

But for now, I shall close with that other one, which in its way is even more striking, with its five small circles each with seven smaller openings.

Long ago one of these was lost and other covered over.

I would love to know what the other coal holes along these two roads looked like, and what other designs once fronted the properties, but alas they have gone, leaving me with just that coal hole observations, that you have to satisfied with what is left.

Location; Chorlton


Pictures; coal holes on Wilbraham Road and Barlow Moor Road, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Coal Holes, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=coal+holes

Another Chorlton coal hole........ now that’s a zippy title

So back by popular demand, here is another in the series of coal hole covers.

A coal hole near you

Once every house and shop had one and now they are a disappearing feature of our streets.

I have  written about them over the years, and Andy found another and sent it over adding “this turned out to be an uninteresting coal-hole. I noticed there were 3 or 4 similar in adjacent houses. I felt a bit nervy taking it......but what the heck”.

Now I have to disagree I think all coal holes are fascinating, but then I don’t get out that much.

So the challenge is, bring on the others Andy and let’s have a Chorlton register of coal holes.... all welcome to contribute.

Location; Chorlton

Picture; another coal hole, Wilbraham Road, 2018, from the collection of Andy Robertson

So what is the story behind the coal hole covers in Chorlton?

Now I know someone will have written a book on those metal covers which once gave access to the coal cellar.

William Smith's best

That said I bet it will be a pretty niche read more so because over the years so many have been lost.

I should know, ours was long ago taken away and the hole bricked up.

Which is a shame given that ours was square and not the conventional round one.  I have had thoughts of restoring the coal cellar but have met stiff resistance, so for the time being I can only guess at our neighbours and wish.

All of which is an introduction to the new series on coal cellar covers.

I have long been fascinated by the different designs on what is basically just a round lump of metal, and yesterday while on Wilbraham Road it caught my fancy to photograph the remaining few which adorn the outside of Highfield.

Highfield, circa 1930s

And for those who puzzle exactly where we are, Highfield is the strip of shops that runs from Keppel to Albany.

There is one fine example of a cover which still bears the name W. Smith & Co, who were ironmongers in Pendleton with works on Broad Street, Brindle Street and Frank Street.

I have found them in the directory for 1911 and in the fullness of time will I will try and research their story.

The cover without a name

What is rather remarkable that of the ones that have survived, they all do have different designs.  Sadly there are only three which are passable, with two more partially covered with cement, and the remaining ones have vanished.

All of which just leaves one little mystery and that is the location of the coal holes.

Today they are where you would expect them to be outside the shop fronts but when the properties were first built the shops didn’t exist.

They were additions which replaced the long gardens running down to the pavement.

A different design

And the nerd in me has wondered where the original coal holes were located.

I assume that they would have been in front of the house, but if they were where they are now, that either suggests the gardens were built over the cellars, or new ones were dug when the shops were built.

At which point a few will mutter what does it matter?

But I think it does, the question is will we ever track down the plans of the alterations, and there I hold out little hope.

Almost gone

Location; Wilbraham Road











Pictures; coal hole covers on Wilbraham Road, 2018, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

The Coal Hole Hall of Fame ……… no.5 …… St Leonards-on-sea

Now I have been quite busy over the last few days inducting coal hole covers in to the Hall of Fame.

And in the answer to the question why are you doing such a nerdy thing?

To which I must answer because.

Although there are of course lots of other reasons.

These start with the obvious one that and they are a piece of history which are fast vanishing.

Added to which they come in all sorts of designs and not all of them are round, or fit flat on to the ground, as we shall see later in the series.

Which brings me to that serious point, that they are a reminder that the coal that shot down into the coal cellar the product of men labouring in the bowels of the earth in hard and dangerous conditions, and that its delivery to our doors was achieved by men with a horse and cart, hefting the 56lb bags on their bag from the van to the coal hole.

And finally, the collection of these iron coal hole covers is more than a bit silly and fun to do and I maintain and maintain most strongly that we should all do one silly thing a day.

So here are four from Steve, on a day he went for an adventure to St Leonards-on-sea.

My favourite is the first, because I like the contrast between the blue of the iron and the green of the moss.

Although I am warming to the second two, particularly the one above.

That said I wish there was more of the last one, which has suffered the indignity of being covered in cement.

On the other hand it is still, there and might one day be restored.

We shall see.

Location; St Leonards-on-sea










Pictures; coal hole covers, 2019, from the collection of Steve Marland

The Coal Hole Hall of Fame ……… no.4 …. the square one

Now the Coal Hole Hall of Fame continues to grow.

And this one I couldn’t resist because it is an exact copy of the one we lost.

Unlike most covers, Andrew’s was located at the side of the house.











Picture; coal hole cover, 2019, courtesy of Andrew Parker

The Coal Hole Hall of Fame ……… no.3 ....... Gatley and Northenden

Now I have been quite busy over the last few days inducting coal hole covers in to the Hall of Fame.

Gatley

And in the answer to the question why are you doing such a nerdy thing?  To which I must answer because.

Although there are of course lots of other reasons.  These start with the obvious one that and they are a piece of history which are fast vanishing.

Added to which they come in all sorts of designs and not all are round, as we shall see later in the series.

Which brings me to that serious point, that they are a reminder that the coal that shot down into the coal cellar the product of men labouring in the bowels of the earth in hard and dangerous conditions, and that its delivery to our doors was achieved by men with a horse and cart, hefting the 56lb bags on their bag from the van to the coal hole.

Northenden

And finally, the collection of these iron coal hole covers is more than a bit silly and fun to do and I maintain and maintain most strongly that we should all do one silly thing a day.

Location Northenden

Pictures coal hole covers, 2019, from the collection of John Knight

The great coal hole quest ……….. can it get much more nerdy?

Now, even I am surprised at the number of people who share my fascination of those iron coal hole covers.*

A lost coal cover, 2019

They came in heaps of different designs and not all were round.

But enough of the covers, because Adam Brock reminded me that if you have a coal hole cover, then there will be a coal cellar.

And as his coal hole cover was long ago cemented over, he asked if I would like to see pictures of the space underneath.

To which the answer was yes and so began the Coal Hole Hall of Fame.

An empty coal cellar, 2019

In four of the houses I have lived in there was a coal cellar, two  of which included a small store room and the big one used for washing clothes.

This last one had the copper for heating the water, a slopping floor to the drain outside, and one even had an old rusty mangle which must have been a challenged to who ever took it down the cellar stairs.

But I digress.

As a youngster the coal cellar was the important one, which every week would take its new supply of coal.

Many will still remember that sound, as the coal shoot down from above. 

It began with the rush as two 56 lbs bags of coal, descended into the cellar with that loud impatient rushing sound, followed by the quieter one as the pile settled, which within minutes finished with the smell of the coal permeating the lower part of the house.

A full coal cellar, 2019

So, for all those that remember the cellar and especially had the job of collecting it in the bucket or scuttle, here are two pictures of Adam’s coal cellar and one from Anne-Marie who told me,"we have cellars in our homes in Old Trafford. 

Actual coal hole itself gone...but area it landed in and was stored still very much there, and full of sons 'rubbish'. 

We'd be lost without the cellar space for storage. 

I do remember, vaguely, the coal being there as kids".

And for anyone who just dismisses this as a bit of silliness, well yes, it is, but it is also a reminder of all those who made their living from coal, starting with the men who hewed the black stuff in the bowels of the earth, to those who delivered it by horse and cart, and those coal yards which were a feature of all our suburban railway stations.

Location, Adam Brocks Coal cellar

Pictures; the coal cellar, from the collections of Adam Brock, and Anne Marie Kelly, 2019

*Coal hole covers, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Coal%20hole%20covers

Perhaps the least exciting story ……. iron covers and petrol cans

Now I am the first to admit that Friday afternoons in February can be slow, and not everyone will see the point in a story about iron covers and old petrol cans, but I can.

More so, because some may soon be lost to us and others just have a history.

I have long been fascinated by those iron coal hole covers, most of which disappeared a long time ago, either to be recycled or just cemented over.*

Like ghost signs, they carry the names of iron foundries, which no longer trade and come in all sorts of designs.

There are still a few here in Chorlton but they will not last another decade.

This one is different, and is relatively new, and gives access not to a coal cellar but a drain.

It can be found outside Morrisons, just past the entrance on the way to the tram stop and I am guessing doesn’t even get a glance from most of those that pass it by.

Nor I suspect will many people think much of this petrol can.**

After all plastic petrol cans can be bought in plenty of shops and warrant little interest unless of course your car has run out of petrol.

But once, along time ago any serious motorist would not have contemplated setting off without a tank of petrol secured in the boot or the side of their car.

In the early years of motoring there were few petrol stations and it was as will to have secured a supply before driving away.

All the big oil and petrol companies supplied their own cans, with the company name or logo emblazoned on the side, and supplies could be obtained from a variety of different places, ranging  from iron mongers to blacksmiths.

What makes this one a little different is that it belonged to the GPO and was collected by my old friend David Harrop.

Location; everywhere

Pictures; metal drain cover, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and GPO petrol can, circa 1920, courtesy of David Harrop

*Coal Holes, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=coal+holes


**Petrol Pumps, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=petrol+pumps