page_title: Chimney
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Chimney / History
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Kelmonderhof: kamer boven poort This is an image of rijksmonument number 8781
context_page_description: A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the stack, or chimney effect. The space inside a chimney is called the flue. Chimneys are adjacent to large industrial refineries, fossil fuel combustion facilities or part of buildings, steam locomotives and ships.
  In the United States, the term 'Smokestack industry' refers to the environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels by industrial society including the electric industry during its earliest history. The term smokestack is also used when referring to locomotive chimneys or ship chimneys, and the term funnel can also be used.
  The height of a chimney influences its ability to transfer flue gases to the external environment via stack effect. Additionally, the dispersion of pollutants at higher altitudes can reduce their impact on the immediate surroundings.
context_section_description: Industrial chimney use dates to the Romans, who drew smoke from their bakeries with tubes embedded in the walls. However, domestic chimneys first appeared in large dwellings in northern Europe in the 12th century. The earliest extant example of an English chimney is at the keep of Conisbrough Castle in Yorkshire, which dates from 1185 AD. However, they did not become common in houses until the 16th and 17th centuries. Smoke hoods were an early method of collecting the smoke into a chimney (see image). Another step in the development of chimneys was the use of built in ovens which allowed the household to bake at home. Industrial chimneys became common in the late 18th century.
  Chimneys in ordinary dwellings were first built of wood and plaster or mud. Since then chimneys have traditionally been built of brick or stone, both in small and large buildings. Early chimneys were of a simple brick construction. Later chimneys were constructed by placing the bricks around tile liners. To control downdrafts, venting caps (often called chimney pots) with a variety of designs are sometimes placed on the top of chimneys. 
  In the 18th and 19th centuries, the methods used to extract lead from its ore produced large amounts of toxic fumes. In the north of England, long near-horizontal chimneys were built, often more than 3 km (2 mi) long, which typically terminated in a short vertical chimney in a remote location where the fumes would cause less harm. Lead and silver deposits formed on the inside of these long chimneys, and periodically workers would be sent along the chimneys to scrape off these valuable deposits.
caption: A smoke hood in the Netherlands. Image: Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands
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