Tweet
I just found this
"Lighting in the Home (Tudor times)
Most people in 16th century Britain lived in poorly-lit houses. Only the wealthy could afford window glass, which meant that they could let light in while preserving heat. The poorer classes never had this luxury and had to do with wooden shutters to their windows, not being able to afford glass. This meant they could only let light in during the warmer weather. The peasantry lived in windowless houses with only a hole in the roof, slits in the wall and a doorway for light and ventilation. Artificial light was needed in every household on all but mid-summer evenings, and many needed it during the day. The most common form of domestic lighting was the rushlight, made by dipping a dried, peeled rush in animal fat. These were cheap to make and would burn for between 30 mins and an hour. Rushlights have been used in Britain since Roman times, and were lit in both rich and poor houses.
As time progressed candles came along, these gave a better light but were more expensive. Most were made at home with tallow melted down from cooking fat, and with linen or cotton wicks. These candles needed frequent attention when lit as the wick burned more slowly than the fat. They dripped, smoked and smelt horrible. Beeswax candles were the best but cost more.
In addition there were oil lamps fuelled with fat or oil, with a wick made of twisted textile strands or rush. They provided a good amount of light but the wick needed frequent trimming and the burning oil gave off unpleasant fumes and were a bit sooty. Further progress saw the pottery lamp introduced. The upper bowl contained oil and a wick that hung over the edge, the lower bowl caught the oil that inevitably dripped from above. Animal and vegetable oils would have fuelled these lamps."
Now I think this could work with cooking oil, the wick is quite thick.
"Lighting in the Home (Tudor times)
Most people in 16th century Britain lived in poorly-lit houses. Only the wealthy could afford window glass, which meant that they could let light in while preserving heat. The poorer classes never had this luxury and had to do with wooden shutters to their windows, not being able to afford glass. This meant they could only let light in during the warmer weather. The peasantry lived in windowless houses with only a hole in the roof, slits in the wall and a doorway for light and ventilation. Artificial light was needed in every household on all but mid-summer evenings, and many needed it during the day. The most common form of domestic lighting was the rushlight, made by dipping a dried, peeled rush in animal fat. These were cheap to make and would burn for between 30 mins and an hour. Rushlights have been used in Britain since Roman times, and were lit in both rich and poor houses.
As time progressed candles came along, these gave a better light but were more expensive. Most were made at home with tallow melted down from cooking fat, and with linen or cotton wicks. These candles needed frequent attention when lit as the wick burned more slowly than the fat. They dripped, smoked and smelt horrible. Beeswax candles were the best but cost more.
In addition there were oil lamps fuelled with fat or oil, with a wick made of twisted textile strands or rush. They provided a good amount of light but the wick needed frequent trimming and the burning oil gave off unpleasant fumes and were a bit sooty. Further progress saw the pottery lamp introduced. The upper bowl contained oil and a wick that hung over the edge, the lower bowl caught the oil that inevitably dripped from above. Animal and vegetable oils would have fuelled these lamps."
Now I think this could work with cooking oil, the wick is quite thick.
Comment