More brass to polish!

As a result of this request on a fellow blogger’s blog regarding chimbley chains -------“I'm going to be cheeky and put in a request for Blossom to tell us about chimney chains... their purpose, origins and most importantly design and decoration.”-----I sat and thought about it, as it was a topic I had not considered before so here goes.

Purpose. That really is quite straight forward to explain. Due to low bridges, overhanging trees etc. chimblies regularly get knocked of the cabin top and into the cut where they sink very fast. By fixing the chimbly to the cabin top by means of a chain of some description, then if it is struck by an object it simply knocks it off and it falls to the length of the chain and usually hangs down the cabin side ready for re-fitting onto the collar. The chain is fixed at one end to the chimbley and the other to, traditionally, the brass loop off a horses harnessing which the reins went through, which is fitted to the cabin top, just behind the chimney collar.

Origins. Upon sitting and thinking of chimbley chains, I would say firstly that they can be grouped into four distinct categories.

1. Plain round curb iron chain

2. Plain heavy brass chain

3. ‘Gas mask bag’ chain

4. Modern decorative brass linked/chain as sold in chandlers.

What I am also going to say is really based on spending a night trawling through all the photos I have on my computer (mainly scanned from all over the place but only for my own purposes you understand!) The photo’s I have, range from the very early 1900’s right through to the end of major commercial carrying in the 1970’s. All photos I have looked at showing boats from before the 1930’s 40’s have plain iron chains being used for the purpose they were designed with no ‘decorative’ elements. This included steamers and their butties as well as horse boats, including No Ones whose boats, while being highly decorated in paintwork show no brass chains or rosettes on their chimblies. I have also found little or no evidence of decorative chain or rosettes on many other carriers irrespective of the period of the photo’s so one can assume from that, that the practice was not that common. Such companies as Shropshire Union Railway & Canal Company, Anderton C.C.Co, Mersey Weaver’s, Fellows Morton & Clayton all the photos I have of their craft simply have plain round iron chain.

It appears that it is not until the 1940’s and Grand Union boats, that the ‘tradition’ seems to have come to the fore. From this point on, ‘gas bag’ chains and brass horse rosettes are to be seen on the majority of boats, but not all with some still using the round iron curb chains, and with this being the case right up to the demise of virtually all long distance carrying in the 1970’s. I have found a few of such boats as Lucy and Raymond having large ring brass chain but without the rosettes.

Design and decoration. From this point of view if it is that someone wanted to also display rosettes on their chimbly, and remain traditional, then there is really only one choice and that is to go for a ‘gas mask bag’ chain. This makes the displaying of rosettes easy. Firstly it is normal to display one, or absolute maximum of two rosettes on your chain. When using gas mask clip chain it is easy as the brass loop on the back of the rosette is simply fitted over the hook end of the individual clips. For a standard length chimbly, you would need seven, possibly eight clips, and so for two rosettes you would hang a rosette on the first hook and the third hook. If you were going to hang only one rosette you would hang this on the second hook.

Why gas bag clips. As I am sure, most of you already know, but in case any one did not here goes. Paper manufacture is mainly concerned with the mashing of wood and other things into a wet pulp, rolling it out into thin layers then drying it out into paper. Other things included rag waste or at the end of the 2^nd world war, in this case redundant gas mask bags. Only the cloth of the bags would be used with the two brass clips at either end of the carrying strap being cut off and ‘stock piled’. Dickenson’s paper mills at Croxley, at the time, were receiving their coal by canal, from the Warwickshire coal fields, and had a large ‘stock pile’ of these brass clips at the wharf. Put two and two together and you come up with ‘a chimbley chain’. It would not have taken long for this to catch on throughout the boating community.

Availability now. Occasionally this type of chain comes up for sale, but tends to demand a very high price, or if you keep your eye on ‘gas bags’ on Ebay the right type appear now and again for about £10.00 and as you need 8 (4 bags) £40.00 - a bargain.

Conclusions: Ok so what can I conclude or assume from this? It appears that brass chains and rosettes were only used after or about the time of the 2^nd world war and that it appears to be particular to Southern boating stock as I have only seen a couple of Northern boats with them at that time, then as we moved further through the 1950’s-60’s & 70’s the more and more common and widespread the ‘tradition’ became.

Personally what I tend to do on Minnow is have my 'gas mask bag' chain with two rosettes hooked onto the top hook on the chimbley but I also have a steel welded chain, about half inch diameter links, which goes through the bottom 'handle' of the chimbley then on through the water can handles, then back through the cabin top ring then to itself and is connected with a small shackle. Thus enabling removal of chimbley and moving of the cans for low bridges, as well as filling kettles etc., but the steel chain is there to stop the chained items being swept overboard.

So Chertsey girl, and everyone else, there you are, my thoughts on chimbley chains. The rest is down to you, all I would say as I always do, if you don't like polishing brass then don't have it and stick to a plain round curb chain and a chimbley without brass bands, and certainly don't paint between the brass bands with red paint, unless you are a number one! So until next time,

'Don't bang 'em about'

Blossom