Chimneys

Chimneystacks generally consist of three elements: a plinth rising just above the ridge, the main shaft and the cornice usually with a block course above on which is placed the pot. Stacks are usually placed at the gable end, but as the chimneybreast projects into the room there is no external chimney buttress.

The stone plinth to the stack has been retained but the shaft and cornice block are replaced in brickwork.

The plinth is sometimes extended down the wall and corbelled out.

Wherever coal was the main fuel – almost ubiquitous in Northumberland – the problem arose of the sulphate attack on the natural bonding agent in the sandstone. It became quite common to replace the shaft of the most frequently used stacks with brickwork and this in turn has now become a traditional feature.