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Jotul F 145 Wood-Burning Stove Swept in Duddenhoe End

Posted By paddy

Not a spectacularly unusual or rare stove as I normally feature in my weekly blogs, but I thought I would include this stove as it is the first new Jotul Eco stoves that I have come across on my travels. This is a Jotul F 145 Wood-Burning Stove Swept that I swept recently at an address in Duddenhoe End. It was installed less than a year ago by Thaxted Stoves and had therefore only had one burning season’s usage. Even though the stove is situated in a rather large sitting room, the customer told me that it heats the room more than adequately. I think you will admit that this particular stove has a very contemporary, workman like appearance, sitting well as it does in a very contemporary setting.

Jotul are a Norweigan company and have been making stoves and fireplaces for over 160 years. Jotul are proud of their global status, selling their products in 43 different countries spread over six continents – Truly a global brand!

Jøtul was founded by Oluf Onsum as Kværner Jernstøberi (Kværner Foundry) in the outskirts of Christiania (now Oslo) in 1853. While stoves initially were the main products, the company had diversified by the beginning of the 20th century, when it produced turbines and lumber equipment.

As the heating appliance manufacture decreased in importance, the production was spun off in 1916 and sold to Herman Anker, one of Kværner’s managers. He founded Jøtul AS in 1920 as a sales organization for its products. The sales stagnated during the depression in the 1920s, and 36-year-old Herman Anker died in 1927, leaving it to his successor, 34-year-old Johannes Gahr to modernize and eventually salvage the company. By 1935, the turnaround had succeeded, and the firm acquired its modern name.

By the 1960s, stoves using liquid fuels, especially kerosene had supplanted wood-burning appliances, a trend that was only reversed in the 1970s, partly due to the 1973 oil crisis. Jøtul used this opportunity to gain a strong international foothold and drastically increased its exports to continental Europe and North America.

The Gahr family sold the business to Norcem in 1977, and a period of international expansion began, as Jøtul acquired a number of foundries and importers abroad. This period lasted for approximately ten years, but came to an end during the recession in the late 1980s, when Jøtul once again focussed on the domestic market. However, it has resumed its international diversification in the 21st century, and today its products are sold worldwide.

In March 2018, Jøtul was acquired by the global private equity firm OpenGate Capital. Along with management, OpenGate has crafted a plan to boost performance and eliminate inefficiencies in Jøtul’s operations. In addition, OpenGate Capital is actively searching for add-on targets to further drive Jøtul’s growth. In November 2018, OpenGate and Jøtul completed the add-on acquisition of AICO, an Italian and French based pellet-burning stove leader.

https://www.jotul.co.uk/

 

Morso 7110 Multi-Fuel Stove Swept in Bardfield End Green

Posted By paddy

Although I sweep a lot of Morso stoves across the area, this is the only example of the Morso 7110 multi-fuel model that I sweep. So this stove is something of a rarity. This example is in a thatched cottage in Bardfield End Green near Thaxted. It is situated in a rather large sitting room, so it has its work cut out to heat it satisfactorily on a cold day. This said the customer reports that it more than adequately heats the room. As can be viewed in the photo it is a substantial appliance and has rather clean, straight lines. Very much a contemporary look set against an old vernacular building. It is that juxtaposition of old and new that works really well I think you would agree?

Morso are a Danish stove company who have been making metal consumer goods since 1953. It was Neils Christensen who founded the Morson Foundry making all sorts of products including metal stable windows, tools, pots and pans and even grave crosses. Around the turn of the century Morso began to start making tiled stoves and room heaters for schools, churches, railsways, government ministries and even to the Danish Royal Family. Indeed, so successful where they, that in 1915 they became the official purveyor of stoves to the Danish Royal Family. It was in the 1950 when tiled stoves became obsolete that Morso began producing Wood-burning Stoves.

Morso Stoves UK

Unit 14B, Davy Court, Castle Mount Way, Rugby, Warwickshire CV23 0UZ

01788554410

https://morsoe.com/

B17 Flying Fortress ‘Dry Gulcher’ Crash Site Memorial in Shalford

Posted By paddy

Here is something that i thought was really interesting. Whilst working in Shalford just this week, I saw this memorial to B17 Flying Fortress ‘Dry Gulcher’ which crash close to the church in Shalford on 4th August 1944. I found it a fascinating piece of local history and thought some of my customers might think the same? B17 Flying Fortress ‘Dry Gulcher’ was initially stationed at Bassingbourn from 27th February 1944 but was transferred to 532nd Bomb Squadron of the 381st Bomb Group at nearby Ridgewell on 27th April 1944. The tail marking for the 381st Bomb Group was a white L in a black triangle.

On 4th August 1944 Dry Gulcher took off with other Flying Fortresses from Ridgewell to bomb the German secret rocket testing site at Peenemunde. All the aircraft taking part in the raid had a full bomb load on takeoff. However, shortly after takeoff and whilst getting into formation over Shalford Dry Gulcher developed engine trouble and one of its engines caught fire, causing the plane to start to lose altitude. Quite quickly the left wing of the plane became engulfed in flames and the fire started to spread to the rest of the aircraft. Most of the crew were able to escape the stricken aircraft and safely parachute to the ground. However, the tail gunner Harry Norris was trapped in his turret and was killed when the plane exploded just a few hundred feet from the ground. The aircraft control cables had broken due to the fire and had trapped rear gunner Harry Norris in the plane. When his body was found later on the ground, it was wrapped in the control cables. The explosion was so large, it damaged the nearby Shalford hall. Harold Norris is buried at the American War Cemetery at Madingly Road, Cambridge.

The surviving crew members were: Pilot: Capt George Hanley Cuppernall, Co-pilot: Capt Irving Moore, Navigator: Russ Radley, Bombardier: Chas Young, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Earl Yankton, Radio Operator: Frank Heinze, Obs-Capt: Francis Hawkins, Waist gunner: Loren Murphy, Waist gunner: Lt Jim Sneed.

Dimplex Bellingham Inset SE Multi-Fuel Stove Swept in Hanchett End

Posted By paddy

Back now after a lovely two week Easter break and rearing to go! Until the other day I had no idea that Dimplex made solid fuel stoves, I thought they just made gas and electric fires, just shows how wrong you can be! Dimpex among other things have the Optiflame stove range, although it is true that Dimpex are largely a manufacturer of electrical appliances under trade names like Creda, Morphy Richards, Goblin Vacuum Cleaners, Roberts Radios and LEC Refrigeration. Having said this, the customer is more than happy with his inset stove tells me that it more than adequately heats the room even on the coldest of days. He is also happy that it is very neat and tidy in the room and doesn’t therefore take up too much space.

Dimplex Glen are an Irish company whose head office is in Dublin, although they have factories across the UK, notably in Mexborough near Doncaster. They also have branches in North America, Germany, Holland, Japan, Poland, Belgium, France, Australia and Scandinavia.

https://www.dimplex.co.uk/charm-wood-burning-stove-ease-electric

Dean Forge Eight Ate Wood-Burning Stove Swept in Wratting Common

Posted By paddy

Here’s a stove you won’t see every day, a Dean Forge Eight Ate Wood-Burning Stove that I recently Swept in an address in Wratting Common. As you can see it is a stove that has a cooking compartment above the fire box. Ideally, this stove is located in the kitchen area of the home. The customer told me that the stove works very efficiently and that the cooking compartment is not just a novelty idea as they regularly use it, although this is mainly to cook pizza. Having said this they have used it to cook other things, including to bake bread and cakes which it does very well. What’s not to like, a beautiful wood-burning stove and yummy home-made food!

Dean Forge are a British stove manufacture, based in Dean Prior Buckfastleigh and Marsh Barton Exeter in Devon. Close to Dartmoor National park and the South Hams, two areas of outstanding natural beauty. Dean Forge production facility is conveniently located beside the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth and in easy reach of Torbay, Dartmoor and the surrounding area. The company was established in 1969 and are now one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of Eco 2022 compliant wood-burning and multi-fuel stoves.

Dean Forge, Dean Prior,
Buckfastleigh,
Devon, TQ11 0LS

T: 01364 643 574

Dean Forge, Unit 21, Norman Court Business Estate,
Budlake Road
Marsh Barton
Exeter, Devon
EX2 8PY
T: 01392 348335

email at
stoves@deanforge.co.uk

https://deanforge.co.uk/support/contact-us/

This stove was installed by Cut Maple Stoves in Sturmer/New England:

 

Cut Maple Stove & Fire Company,

Sturmer Road,

New England,

Halstead CO9 4BB

Telephone: 01440 788788

Email: cutmaple@fireplacesetc.co.uk

Website: http://www.fireplacesetc.co.uk

Nordpeis Bergen Wood-Burning Stove Swept in Duxford

Posted By paddy

 

As can be seen from my blog, I do sweep a number of Nordpeis stoves, although they do remain relatively rare across the area, they do tend to be unusual and very contemporary. They also tend to be the smaller models of Nordpeis. Well for this week’s blog, I came across this Nordpeis Bergen Wood-Burning Stove at an address in Duxford, as can be seen from the photograph it is significantly different than those stoves which I have previously featured in my blogs. For one thing it has a much more traditional appearance than other Nordpeis stoves, for another it is significantly larger than other Nordpeis models that I sweep. Having said this, its size is deceptive as surprisingly the Bergen has only a 5Kw rated output. The stove is situated in a rather large room, but despite the size of room and its 5Kw output, the customer tells me that it more than adequately heats the room even on the coldest of days.

 

A Google search reveals that Nordpeis are based in Norway and were established 30 years ago.

https://www.nordpeis.co.uk/about/

It would appear that Nordpeis are sold in the UK are part of the Stovax Stove Company and are sold through approved retailers.

Stovax Limited,

Falcon Road,

Sowton,

Industrial Estate,

Exeter EX2 7LF

T: 01392 474000

Brent Pelham – Bees Nest Removed from a Redundant Chimney

Posted By paddy

Just the other week, I encountered a really tricky job, that took quite some time to complete. Fortunately, we had set aside a long appointment to complete the work, as the customer had requested that we sweep an unlined Charnwood C-Five Multi-Fuel Stove, two open fire bedroom chimneys and a redundant chimney that had an old bee’s nest in it. The redundant chimney being accessed by a small ventilation panel low down in the wall. The customer had had a mesh fitted across the chimney and an anti-bird cowl fitted and believed the bees long gone. This small vent opening made accessing and sweeping the chimney very difficult, let alone removing the horrible sticky, sooty nest deposits that were swept down. I used 18mm power sweeping rods with a large scrubber head and driven by a Boch 36 Volts cordless drill to remove the deposits.

The nest was rather extensive and was around 2 meters in length at the top of the stack. It consisted of old nest at the bottom and new nest at the top. I’m thinking that it had been there for a number of years with the bees adding successive new layers of nest year on year. The bottom metre of nest was dry old nest material and filled a large trug. The top metre of nest was more recent and consisted of honey combe and lots of sticky, runny honey mixed with chimney deposits, 2nd trug (See photos). The very top of the nest was still active and full of live bees! I only discovered this at the conclusion of the sweeping process. This said, I was able to sweep out all the nest and removed most of the material via the vent opening. I was able to do this as I had been removing the material a bit at a time whilst sweeping.

Unfortunately, towards the end of the process I had to stop removing the swept material from the chimney as numerous live bees were starting to come down the chimney and out into the room. At this point I quickly put the vent cover back on to prevent large numbers of bees coming into the room. Fortunately, I had time to remove the majority of the rather sticky, material from the base of the chimney via the vent. This material had a very unpleasant consistency, as it comprised old nest and honey combe, dead bees, honey and sooty chimney deposits. All this material was enough to fill several large gardening trugs. After a tidy up, everything was left nice and clean and tidy, so a job well done in the end. All that was left to do then was to later clean all the sticky rods and equipment! Not a short job in itself!

Brabas Bellfire Unilux 640 Cassette Wood-burning Stove Swept in Radwinter

Posted By paddy

 Here is a very tidy cassette stove, a Brabas Bellfire Unilux 640 Cassette Wood-burning Stove that I recently swept at an address in Radwinter. Brabas Bellfire is not a make of stove that I was aware of, so on returning home I immediately Googled the company so I could see what I could find out about them. The stove itself had a system of two separate baffles in order to increase its operational efficiency and was a little tricky to dismantle. I say a little trick, when I really mean quite awkward!!! The customer reported that it does work very well when alight and heats the room, which apparently is a very cold room, more than adequately.

Barbas Bellfire are based in Holland and Belgium, they employ over 160 staff and produce 120 different models of stove. So, they are a large concern on the continent and have been manufacturing stoves since 1976. They manufacture wood-burning stoves as well as gas fires. Some of their wood-burning stove models include the Evolux 100-45 range, and the Box range. The box is what it says on the tin a box stove in various sizes.

Barbas Bellfire

Hallenstraat 17

5531 AB,

Bladel,

Holland

T: (0)49 733 9200

E: info@barbasbellfires.com

More Medieval Churches Visited Whilst Sweeping for the Dioceses of Chelmsford

Posted By paddy

 

For this week’s blog I thought I would write about some more of the beautiful medieval churches we have visited whilst sweeping for the Dioceses of Chelmsford. These examples were all located in Northeast Essex, so lots of driving involved! But this does mean that we get to see lots of the beautiful Essex countryside. The only downside of this is that working six days a week as we do, we can only fit the Dioceses of Chelmsford work in on Sundays, because of the additional travelling involved. The upside is that the churches are usually open because it’s a Sunday.

 

St Michael’s Church Ramsey

St Michael’s Church Ramsey is located at the crest of Church Hill, so is quite unmissable. Ramsey is close to the port of Harwich and the church can be found at postcode CO12 5EL. The church at Ramsey was built gradually altered between the 12th and 16th centuries. However, it was later restored in 19th century, like many other old religious buildings during that century. In the 12th Century, the main part of the original church was built. The north doorway and the small window to the right of it (as you look from the entrance porch) are Norman. In the 13th Century, the main part of the original church was improved in the Early English style. A picina, to hold Holy water (by the pulpit) was added, and the staircase (above the organ console) was built to connect to the rood loft (from which minstrels used to play).

Improvements in the Decorated style were added in the 14th Century. These were two north and two south facing windows in the nave. Remember that we are talking about the 1300’s, when no tower or chancel existed. The 15th Century Perpendicular style followed, and this era saw the tower being constructed, the doorway (by which you enter the church) being decorated with figures of Our Lady; representing her coronation and the Holy water stoop being used. The font dates from this period. Note the shields and scroll design, a local trademark. The Tudor 16th Century saw the building on of the chancel, with large simple windows above the main altar. The roof dates from 1547. The window by the pulpit was added at this time. The 17th Century saw the construction of the intricate Jacobean pulpit – a real treasure. The 18th Century saw the first rebuilding of the tower, with a belfry, lattice windows inserted and battlements added. The bells would have been rung during this period and on into Victorian times, of course.The 19th Century Victorian era saw much rebuilding of the nave floor. Perhaps, fortunately, no stained glass windows were inserted. Inside the church there is a memorial for Lieutenant-General Daniel Burr. Burr was originally a cadet with the East India Company. He later rose up the ranks and within 30 years he had reached his full rank.

 

St Mary’s Church Lawford 

St Mary’s at Lawford is a very interesting church with a long history and is a Grade 1 listed building. The oldest fabric in the church is in the south wall of the nave, dating from 1200 or earlier. The chancel, the south porch and the first tower were built in 1340. The tower was rebuilt in the 16th century, and again in the following century. In 1826 the north wall of the nave and the north aisle were added.[3] In 1853, when the rector was Revd Charles Merivale (later the Dean of Ely), the interior of the chancel was restored by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley. The nave was restored in 1864, followed by the chancel walls in 1887. In 1944 the east window was damaged by a bomb. In 1991 an extension was made to the north of the church to house a vestry and meeting rooms, and in 2009 the roof and tower were repaired and parts of the interior of the church were modernized.

The church is constructed in flintseptaria and brick, with limestone dressings and a tiled roof. The plan consists of a three-bay nave with a south porch, a north aisle, a chancel, a north vestry, and a west tower with a stair turret on the southeast. In the chancel are a 14th-century piscina and a triple sedilia. The octagonal pulpit dates from about 1906. In 1906 a two-manual pipe organ made by Norman and Beard was installed. This was replaced by an electronic organ made by Copeman Hart in 2005. There is a ring of three bells, dated 1667, 1714, and 1907.

The churchyard contains the graves of the war poet Robert Nichols and his father John Bowyer Buchanan Nichols, also a poet. The grave of the Canadian politician John Robertson also lies in the churchyard, as do the war graves of a soldier and two airmen of the Second World War.

St Mary’s Church Wivenhoe

The present Church is possibly built on Roman foundations, which is why there are so much Roman brick and tiles in the walls of it.  After the original building, the Anglo Saxons probably built a wooden church.  Then came the Normans who built a church in stone which is the basis of our Church.  It did not have a tower; the nave and chancel were smaller than now, and the North and South aisles were not built, but it is the basis of our Church.

St Mary`s is a very early church name but Wivenhoe church is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. In fact hardly any church was mentioned in Essex, although in Suffolk all the churches were mentioned. Did Essex people upset the people working on the book?

The North and South aisles were built in 1340 and 1350, and so our Church is the oldest building still standing in Wivenhoe. Until the early 1500s, the Nave floor was just beaten earth and the walls would have been covered with paintings of scenes from the Bible painted by local artists. The columns would have also been painted with flowers or ivy running up them.  So very old churches could be very cheerful places to be in.

The Nave was separated from the chancel by a wooden screen called a Rood Screen.  The upper part of the screen was pierced with carvings, while the lower half would have had pictures of Saints on them.  Above the screen was a large wooden cross called the rood, which is why they are called Rood Screens.

The congregation did not take part in the Mass only the priest did so. The early communion chalices were like small wine glasses. The congregation only took communion at Easter after an all-night vigil in the Church. Generally speaking, there was nowhere to sit so services could be tiring. All you could do was use your rosary beads, look at the wall paintings or even pray. You only left when the priest said you could go.

When people died, they were not buried in a coffin but in a wool or cotton shroud. The South side of the churchyard was the preferred place to be buried as the North side was, in folk lore, the devil’s side, and was used for suicides, murdered, drowned and unbaptised people.  The churchyard was not only used to bury people but also for general festivities including dancing. We get Carol as in Christmas from the old name for a dancing tune as they were called carols.

Saltfire ST2 5Kw Multi-Fuel Stove Swept in Haverhill

Posted By paddy

 

I recently came across this Saltfire ST2 5Kw Multi-Fuel Stove at an address in Haverhill. It was not a stove that I was familiar with, and I was keen to find out more about the stove and the company that made it. I was also keen to find out how it had ended up being installed in a house in Haverhill and initially, how it came apart so that I could access the flue to sweep it. I do a lot of sweeping work in Haverhill and had not come across any Saltfire stoves let alone this particular model. Speaking to the customer it transpired that the customer had selected and bought the stove online and then had it installed by Cut Maple Fires and Stoves from Sturmer: https://www.fireplacesetc.co.uk/

Saltfire Stoves are based in Wareham Dorset (a very picturesque part of the country), and design and manufacture several ranges of precision-engineered stoves, designed for maximum efficiency and all extremely cleanburning, all Saltfire models are DEFRA certified for use in Smoke Control areas in the UK. Efficiency ratings up to 83.9%! The make a number of different models of stove, including The Scout, Scout Tall, Peanut 5, Bignut 5 and Peanut 8. Their ST range of stoves, numbered 1 through to 8 extends over fifteen different models. They also make stoves under the brand name Ekol, which includes models such as the Apple Pie, Adept Classic, Ekol Double-Sided, Crystal 5, Clarity 5 Clarity Vision and Adept Steel Frame.

Saltfire Stoves

Station Works

John’s Road

Wareham

Dorset BH204BG

T: 01929 555211

E: enquiries@saltfire.co.uk

https://www.saltfire.co.uk/

 

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