Fire Brick from Galley
Description
Until the 1750’s bricks like these were used to build the ship’s galley hearth around a copper kettle. The kettles were placed over an ash pit. Bricks were placed all-round the pit, enclosing the kettles. Several layers of brick were placed beneath the ash pit to keep the heat of the fire away from the wood of the deck. This type of hearth was suitable only for boiling. Even the most basic fire hearth used a considerable quantity of bricks. Iron stoves were first proposed in 1728 because the weight of the brickwork was overloading and straining the smaller boats. Although records show that the Invincible had been fitted with a new iron galley stove, many fire bricks and a copper kettle have been removed from the wreck site which suggests that the old hearth remained on board.
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Object Detail
Width: 105mm
Height: 64mm
Weight: 1/16cwt (2.2kg)