Chats on Old Copper and Brass

by Fred. W. Burgess

The Door Knocker.

The common door knocker, essentially a piece of metal associated to-day with utilitarian purposes, is not without romantic associations. It has been a much collected object; easily detached, too, for it is said that many of the old knockers, or rappers as they were formerly called, which a few years ago could be bought quite cheaply from the marine store dealers, had been surreptitiously purloined by thieves, who for the sake of a few coppers had taken some risk even on a dark night. Some old houses are still rich in antiquarian door knockers, before the days of front door bells and electric pushes more a necessity than they are now. Their use was by no means confined to private houses, on which they figured in a variety of forms, but among the earlier examples are ponderous knockers of copper and brass, once regarded as an essential feature on the great oaken doors of cathedrals and churches and other important buildings. In the days when the precincts of certain ecclesiastical edifices were sanctuary, the knocker was the goal sought by the criminal offender who rushed to obtain the protection of sanctuary. One of the most famous historical knockers which has been copied by modern founders, and is seen in collections of so-called antiques and in use as a modern replica on room doors in twentieth-century houses, is the famous knocker which did service for so many years on the Sanctuary door of Durham Cathedral. It is a relic of great antiquity, having been placed on the door prior to the reign of King Stephen. Detailing its use as sanctuary a contemporary monk wrote: "Hereupon their leader violently and repeatedly struck the brass rings which hang outside the door." According to the "rights" of Durham all the churchyard and all the circuit thereof was sanctuary for all manner of men whatever their offences had been. It will be remembered that in olden time, still perpetuated by its name, there was sanctuary just outside the Abbey of Westminster, the right being retained even after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540. There were similar places of refuge for criminals at the Minories, Whitefriars, and the old Mint in Southwark. The Durham knocker, around which some interest centres, was in the form of an animal's head, in which are now two empty eye-sockets, behind which it is said lights were placed, although it is probable that they may have been filled with crystal balls.

The brass lion knocker of Brazenose College, Oxford, has won some notoriety, and has been much copied. The legends regarding its ancient association with the College, and the migration of the students to Stamford in 1334, and the subsequent return of the knocker to Oxford after it had been in other hands for many years, vary, and are not altogether borne out by proven facts. The brass-nosed knocker does not appear to have given the name to the College, notwithstanding the very generally accepted belief. Indeed, according to several authorities the name originated in the words bracinum, malt, and house, a brew-house having been incorporated in the older buildings. The old knocker, however, is still regarded as historic.

Few collectors of old copper and brass can hope to possess such historical relics, nor yet are they likely to secure any of the massive knockers, some of which are to be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington. They can, however, readily obtain brass knockers dating from the reign of Queen Anne, and especially the ornate knockers of Georgian times, many of them bearing traces of the Adams' style and of Chippendale influence. Some knockers are peculiar in that the design is not always apparent. In Fig. 16 is shown a fine knocker of the much favoured armorial style, and in Fig. 17 is given a drop knocker in the form of a dolphin. Some of the knockers, repeated in great numbers in certain districts, are essentially local, such as a hook and worm pattern, which took its origin in a Sussex village. It was the invention of a local smith, an admirer of Izaac Walton, who it is said frequently passed his smithy door on his way to a fishing stream. Technically described by a fisherman, this knocker is said to be "a lobworm of buxom proportions dangling from a hook." There are others, equally interesting examples, to be met with in out-of-the-way places. One of the advantages of collecting these common objects in brass and other metals is that they can still be made to serve a useful purpose on room doors, although the rat-tat of the larger specimens is sometimes startling.

"Shut, shut the door, good John! fatigued, I said;

Tie up the knocker; say I'm sick, I'm dead."

Pope.

Interior Metal-Work.

The collectable brasses (other than domestic kitchen brass and copper-work which is dealt with in [Chapter VIII]) belonging to the later period of art, and chiefly associated with the builder's furnishing and cabinetmaker's craft, include quite a variety of interesting objects. In the days before Victorian times, when art almost died out, the coppersmith and the brazier produced some beautiful objects for the ornamentation and furnishing of the home, many of which have been handed down to us, and form valuable additions to a collection of metal. This period, as it has been already intimated, has been very much copied, especially just before the artists of the later Edwardian days struck out new lines and founded a school which has been called that of the "nouvre art." Now and then there have been attempts to blend the old with the new, and the collector of the genuine antique desiring purity of style in his specimens should not neglect any opportunities he may have of examining and comparing the various styles. The arrangements for lighting and heating houses were until quite recently inefficient. There was, however, still greater neglect in providing for the comfort of the attenders at churches, which were frequently cold and chilly. Attempts were made by individuals to remedy this, and among the curios associated with heating purposes are hand-warmers and foot-warmers. The earlier types of hand-warmers, or chaufferettes, were spherical metal boxes or balls, in the interior of which, by an arrangement of chains or rings, a cup containing a red-hot ball of metal or a piece of charcoal could be retained in an upright position. These portable warming stoves were also used in many houses and on many occasions. Reference is made to such warmers in [Chapter XV], where a Dutch foot-warmer is illustrated. It is said that it was a common practice years ago for a servant man or maid to follow a lady when attending church, carrying a charcoal burner and placing it upon the floor at the lady's feet, then gracefully retiring into some less conspicuous part of the building until the service was over. In the days when streets were badly lighted lanterns were commonly hung outside houses and in entrance halls, some reference to the more portable types being given in [Chapter IX].