226 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
Other appliances, connected mainly with the boiling of food, were the
fire-crane, often large and very ornamental in form, which hung in the
hearth place. It was capable of many adjustments. By its aid the hang-
ing pot could be raised or lowered, swung out in front of the hearth, or (in
the most perfect forms) moved from one side of the fire to the other. From
the fire-crane, hung the pot-hook (called the "trammel" in the Eastern
Counties, the "cotterell" in the West and South of England, and by
various other names in other parts), which supported the hanging pot,
the boiler for hot water, or the kettle. Another contrivance, now wholly
disused, was the kettle-tilter, which, hanging from the pot-hook, held the
kettle. It had a projecting handle, by means of which it could be tilted.
so as to pour hot water from the kettle, without the blackened kettle itself
being touched with the hands. Then, there was the skillet, which was
the fore-runner of our modern sauce-pan. As the old form of flat hearth
had no bars, the skillet could be stood on bars like our modern sauce-pan.
It was provided, therefore, with three short legs, on which it stood upon
the hearth, just within the edge of the fire. The older skillets were hand-
some vessels, cast entirely in bronze, and often had the name of the owner
or founder or a curious motto cast on the handle.
Yet another set of appliances were those connected with the roasting
of meats. Chief of these was the spit or broche, a long steel rod, which
was supported either by special spit-rests or by hooks on the fronts of the
andirons. The spit, when charged with a joint or poultry, was caused
to revolve slowly before the fire, either by hand or by some mechanical
means—sometimes by a dog in a wheel, sometimes by water-power,
sometimes by a weight which actuated a piece of mechanism known as
the "jack", and, in later times, by clockwork. Below the joint, as it
revolved on the spit, was, of course, the dripping-pan, to catch the
dripping, from which the meat was basted continually by means of
the basting-ladle.
Yet other appliances, connected chiefly with toasting, frying, and
similar culinary operations, were the gridiron, the turning-grill, the girdle,
the frying-pan, the gofre-tongs, and the salamander.
Of all the foregoing and of some other subsidiary appliances, the Museum
contains, as stated above, a large series—probably by far the largest of
its kind in existence anywhere. In most museums, the few objects of the
kind shown are usually rendered quite meaningless to an ordinary visitor,
by being hung on a wall. Mr. Christy has endeavoured to avoid this
absurdity by displaying most of the objects in his Museum in imitation
hearths, in which they are seen, each in its proper position, as though in
actual use. This is very necessary now-a-days, when these appliances
are so far obsolete that the ordinary person, seeing them, has no idea what-
ever of their former uses, or even of their names. These, however, Mr.
Christy endeavoured to explain to the party.
The Museum contains also a smaller series of obsolete agricultural
implements, such as flails, hayband-twisters, dibblers, and the like.
Further, there are several fine examples of mantraps and spring guns.
A most hearty vote of thanks was passed by acclaim to Mr. Christy for
his kindness, and for his demonstrations at his most interesting Museum,
and the party was driven to Chelmsford to catch the 8.10 train home-
wards.