Famine Pots?

gobnaitolunacy · 2013-05-30 07:22:19

While walking through a field in east Cork, I came across a large cast iron pot about 3' high and 3' dia. Heard that these were from Famine times, any evidence to back this up?

30-05-2013 08:22AM

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gobnaitolunacy

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While walking through a field in east Cork, I came across a large cast iron pot about 3' high and 3' dia. Heard that these were from Famine times, any evidence to back this up?

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#2 30-05-2013 08:32AM

robp

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gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

While walking through a field in east Cork, I came across a large cast iron pot about 3' high and 3' dia. Heard that these were from Famine times, any evidence to back this up?

Might be of interest even though the original picture is gone.

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/a-history-of-ireland-in-100-objects-1.525539

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#3 30-05-2013 08:38AM

gobnaitolunacy

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robp wrote: »

Might be of interest even though the original picture is gone.

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/a-history-of-ireland-in-100-objects-1.525539

I'm familiar with the smaller three legged ones, and I have a few examples, but this pot is far too big to be hung over a fireplace.

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#4 30-05-2013 09:08AM

P. Breathnach

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Pots like that were used in soup kitchens funded by charities or benevolent landlords. The typical soup recipe was shockingly low on food value (although things inevitably varied from one operation to another).

They might also have been used in workhouses.

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#5 31-05-2013 10:42AM

gobnaitolunacy

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Spotted this thread..http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056960564... there seems to be an assumption that any large cast pot dates from Famine times and used in a soup kitchen, could just as well have been used in farms for boiling foodstuffs for animals.

A well known illustration of a Quaker soup kitchen shows large vats that appear to have staves and bands like barrels rather than an iron pot. How are you supposed to heat a wooden vessel, unless it was pre mixing ingredients for boiling afterwards?

http://www.quakers-in-ireland.ie/newsite_nov_2010/wp-content/uploads/2005/02/soup.jpg

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#6 31-05-2013 11:34AM

robp

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gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

Spotted this thread..http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056960564... there seems to be an assumption that any large cast pot dates from Famine times and used in a soup kitchen, could just as well have been used in farms for boiling foodstuffs for animals.

A well known illustration of a Quaker soup kitchen shows large vats that appear to have staves and bands like barrels rather than an iron pot. How are you supposed to heat a wooden vessel, unless it was pre mixing ingredients for boiling afterwards?

http://www.quakers-in-ireland.ie/newsite_nov_2010/wp-content/uploads/2005/02/soup.jpg

Maybe with an element?

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#7 31-05-2013 08:06PM

goose2005

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gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

Spotted this thread..http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056960564... there seems to be an assumption that any large cast pot dates from Famine times and used in a soup kitchen, could just as well have been used in farms for boiling foodstuffs for animals.

A well known illustration of a Quaker soup kitchen shows large vats that appear to have staves and bands like barrels rather than an iron pot. How are you supposed to heat a wooden vessel, unless it was pre mixing ingredients for boiling afterwards?

http://www.quakers-in-ireland.ie/newsite_nov_2010/wp-content/uploads/2005/02/soup.jpg

I think there is charcoal burning in a lower section of the pot - the man in the picture is using a bellows to keep it going

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#8 04-06-2013 04:15PM

gobnaitolunacy

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Thinking it might be timber lagging to keep the soup warmer for longer, like the timber boiler lagging in some early steam boilers.

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