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| Chimney stacks, some topped with pots, on buildings along Kilcullen’s Upper Main Street. |
I've been reading the cover article from the April edition of The Bridge about the planned streetscape survey of Kilcullen's Upper Main Street. Zooming in on a c. 1900 image of the street, it appears that many of the chimney stacks were devoid of chimney pots—the same is true for Lower Main Street. A chimney pot serves several functions beyond mere aesthetics. It improves airflow by effectively raising the chimney's height without requiring the entire stack to be built taller. Since a chimney pot is narrower than the flue inside the stack (these chimney stacks were often wide and sometimes flue-less; in fact, children used to climb the stacks to sweep the chimneys), it creates a venturi effect, increasing airflow speed and improving suction.
Chimney pots became more common in the 18th century, with the peak of the fashion occurring in the 19th century.
Another feature of the chimney stacks is that many of them appear to have been constructed from brick, rather than rough stone. Over the intervening 130 years or so since the Lawrence Collection photo was taken, most of the stacks have been rendered.
Images courtesy The National Library of Ireland.
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| Brick-constructed chimney stacks on buildings along Kilcullen's upper main street. |
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| Lawrence Collection photo, c. 1900, of Kilcullen's Upper Main Street, |
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