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Chimney Cowls with particular reference to Brighton, by John Redfern, published 2001 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 31, article, pp.2-8, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506529]   Download PDF

Wind figured largely in the domestic and economic fortunes of seaside towns, and Brighton with its long history of fishing, seaside therapy, varied attractions and thriving social life was no exception. As Brighton expanded and houses appeared on the banks and steep slopes on either side of The Steine, mostly in close proximity and at the same time rising in narrow steps one behind another, problems arose, particularly in the area of heating and in venting the smoke and fumes that came with it. It was here that the very wind, that frequently caused rooms to be almost uninhabitable, was harnessed to provide the remedy for the nuisance of which it was the main cause. A diversity of unique cowls and smoke cures was developed to ameliorate the problem of the vagarious currents of air that the complex developments promoted and the stiff winds that are a feature of our coastline. What is now an almost forgotten industry came into its own. It could be said that this 'hidden' industry produced a range and number of essential artefacts over a period of many years that could rival the output of any similar enterprise in the town to date. There have always been cowls on the scene. Charles I is said to have granted a patent to the inventor of a rotating smoke cure (probably a "Lobster Back") and there are earlier references to creaking apparatus on the chimney. Prince Albert applied his considerable engineering talents to the chimneys of Osborne. It is said that on the night of his death the cowls that he had designed roared and ground in the vicious tempest that assailed the house. Chimney cowls, (the word derives from the Latin cucullus: a hood), became an established and profitable industry early in the nineteenth century when a plethora of shapes, shafts and erections appeared almost overnight. For the Victorians decoration, even on the heights of the house, exemplified in these artefacts the principle that anything on which time, trouble and money had been expended should be decorous and effective and should be seen to be so.

H A Waller & Sons of Whitecross Street, Brighton: A Brief History of a Family Firm, by John Redfern, published 2003 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 33, article, pp.2-5, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506531]   Download PDF

In a world of corporate business, far-flung enterprise, bids, take-overs and mergers, it is hard to recall the era of private enterprise, personal drive, application, self-denial and sheer hard work of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Brighton, like many towns of similar capacity, well-versed already in the world of leisure and entertainment, expanding in many directions with an excellent connection to the capital, offered opportunity to verve and talent. Henry Waller had both.