Candle house?
annily
"condle house" which blows up. It's a small shed on an estate in The
Hamptons.
I've never heard this term before, and a Google search is unfruitful.
Does anyone know where the term comes from and what such a structure is
(or was originally) used for?
--
Long-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia,
which probably influences my opinions.
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
wrote:
>In the latest episode of Royal Pains, there is what sounds like a
>"condle house" which blows up. It's a small shed on an estate in The
>Hamptons.
>
>I've never heard this term before, and a Google search is unfruitful.
>
>Does anyone know where the term comes from and what such a structure is
>(or was originally) used for?
I never met this before.
You wrote "Candle" in the subject line but "condle" in the body of the
message. Assuming you mean "candle" I wonder whether this might
originally have been a place for storing candles which retained its name
when it was later used for storing, for example, kerosene (paraffin)?
I don't think that a pile of candles would blow up. Something more
volatile would be needed.
As you say, Google is not much help. It finds all sorts of results that
are irrelevant to this context. I've just found one example of an actual
candle storage building (in the UK):
http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=D14393
Candle House at Newhouse (Ireshopeburn); Listed building (Newhouse)
The description that follows is the full English Heritage listing
for this building
STANHOPE NEWHOUSE NY 8738 36/243 Candle house at Newhouse
GV II Candle storage house for Beaumount lead mines. Late 98/early
99. Coursed sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings and quoins; roof
pantiled. 2 storeys one bay. Wide flat stone lintels and
slightly-projecting stone sills to windows, with some glazing bows.
Low-pitched hipped roof. Empty and derelict at time of survey.
There is another Candle House:
http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=D8568
Westgate, Candle House; house (Westgate)
This building, located on the north side of Front Street and on the
corner of Rookhope Road, is known as the Candle House and was where
candles were made for the lead miners.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
HVS
> On Fri, 04 Feb 2011 22:31:44 +1030, annily <ann...@annily.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> In the latest episode of Royal Pains, there is what sounds like a
>> "condle house" which blows up. It's a small shed on an estate in The
>> Hamptons.
>>
>> I've never heard this term before, and a Google search is unfruitful.
>>
>> Does anyone know where the term comes from and what such a structure is
>> (or was originally) used for?
>
> I never met this before.
>
> You wrote "Candle" in the subject line but "condle" in the body of the
> message. Assuming you mean "candle" I wonder whether this might
> originally have been a place for storing candles which retained its name
> when it was later used for storing, for example, kerosene (paraffin)?
>
> I don't think that a pile of candles would blow up. Something more
> volatile would be needed.
Seems more likely to be where candles were made, rather than stored, I'd
have thought. I think candle factories were fairly notorious for
explosions, and wouldn't be at all surprised to discover that the
production of tallow involved volatile materials.
--
Cheers, Harvey
CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed
Bertel Lund Hansen
> have thought. I think candle factories were fairly notorious for
> explosions, and wouldn't be at all surprised to discover that the
> production of tallow involved volatile materials.
Fumes of stearin are explosive. If you blow out a candle and
immediately hold a lighted match in the fumes, the flame runs
down and lights the candle again.
--
Bertel, Denmark
annily
> annily wrote:
>
>> In the latest episode of Royal Pains, there is what sounds like a
>> "condle house" which blows up. It's a small shed on an estate in The
>> Hamptons.
>>
>> I've never heard this term before, and a Google search is unfruitful.
>>
>> Does anyone know where the term comes from and what such a structure is
>> (or was originally) used for?
>
> the wind."
>
> He was quoting (sort of) from the much-overplayed Elton John tune,
> "Candle in the Wind".
>
> AFAIK, the shed was just a shed.
But they used the term several times to describe it (and I don't even
remember that quote). I don't think it was called anything else.
annily
> On 04 Feb 2011, Peter Duncanson (BrE) wrote
>
>> On Fri, 04 Feb 2011 22:31:44 +1030, annily<ann...@annily.invalid>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> In the latest episode of Royal Pains, there is what sounds like a
>>> "condle house" which blows up. It's a small shed on an estate in The
>>> Hamptons.
>>>
>>> I've never heard this term before, and a Google search is unfruitful.
>>>
>>> Does anyone know where the term comes from and what such a structure is
>>> (or was originally) used for?
>>
>> I never met this before.
>>
>> You wrote "Candle" in the subject line but "condle" in the body of the
>> message. Assuming you mean "candle" I wonder whether this might
>> originally have been a place for storing candles which retained its name
>> when it was later used for storing, for example, kerosene (paraffin)?
>>
>> I don't think that a pile of candles would blow up. Something more
>> volatile would be needed.
>
> Seems more likely to be where candles were made, rather than stored, I'd
> have thought.
That's what I though after posting too. I was just surprised to hear it
said of a shed on a private estate. Perhaps they used to make their own
candles "in-house".
It was being used to store flammable liquids (among other things) hence
the explosion.
annily
> On 2011-02-05 07:49, Lane wrote:
>> annily wrote:
>>
>>> In the latest episode of Royal Pains, there is what sounds like a
>>> "condle house" which blows up. It's a small shed on an estate in The
>>> Hamptons.
>>>
>>> I've never heard this term before, and a Google search is unfruitful.
>>>
>>> Does anyone know where the term comes from and what such a structure is
>>> (or was originally) used for?
>>
>> The line was "It seemed to me it lived its life like a candle house in
>> the wind."
>>
>> He was quoting (sort of) from the much-overplayed Elton John tune,
>> "Candle in the Wind".
>>
>> AFAIK, the shed was just a shed.
>
> But they used the term several times to describe it (and I don't even
> remember that quote). I don't think it was called anything else.
>
On watching the episode again, the "candle house" was first referred to
(by one of the women) as what sounded like "shack" - it could have been
"shed", then later by the General as "candle house".
The Elton John "candle house in the wind" reference actually followed
that, after the explosion, as a joke.
The way the word was introduced without explanation made it sound as
though it was common usage, at least in The Hamptons.
annily
Later still, someone else (younger than the general) referred to it as a
shed. So perhaps "candle house" is something that old-timers, such as
the general, would use.
annily
I found a quotation in OED. It's listed under "melting" and "soap", but
not "candle":
1854 Hull Improv. Act 33 Any candle-house, melting-house, melting-place
or soap-house.
John Holmes
>
> I found a quotation in OED. It's listed under "melting" and "soap",
> but not "candle":
>
> 1854 Hull Improv. Act 33 Any candle-house, melting-house,
> melting-place or soap-house.
It would have made sense to have a separate building as far as possible
from the house for doing those sorts of things involving rendering
tallow. It doesn't exactly smell like roses.
--
Regards
John
for mail: my initials plus a u e
at tpg dot com dot au
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
wrote:
>
>Later still, someone else (younger than the general) referred to it as a
>shed. So perhaps "candle house" is something that old-timers, such as
>the general, would use.
"Shed" is the type of building. "Candle house" is the function of the
building.
annily
> On Sat, 05 Feb 2011 12:08:47 +1030, annily<ann...@annily.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>>
>> Later still, someone else (younger than the general) referred to it as a
>> shed. So perhaps "candle house" is something that old-timers, such as
>> the general, would use.
>
> "Shed" is the type of building. "Candle house" is the function of the
> building.
>
Or in this case, I think "candle-house" WAS the function. It is now
being used for purposes other than to make candles.
gaylesam
the "Candle House" question - information can be found at
http://www.woodsholemuseum.org/woodspages/archive/CandleHouse.pdf
REGISTER
Candle House (Factory)
1828 -1985
CANDLE HOUSE (FACTORY)
BRIEF HISTORY
The papers in this collection cover one facet of the early days of
Woods Hole when
whaling was the main industry. The only remaining landmark from those
days is the
Candle House.
Whaling was carried out from the village of Woods Hole from 1828 to
1864.
The Candle House was constructed in Woods Hole in 1836 at the height
of the whaling
industry and was the site at which whale oil was made into spermaceti
candles. The
building was also use for a store and a supply house. With the
discovery of oil in
Pennsylvania in 1858, the whaling industry declined and this activity
ceased. In 1903, the
land and the Candle House were bought by the Marine Biological
Laboratory (MBL) for
$7000 and is currently (2009) used for the administrative offices of
MBL.
.
SCOPE NOTE
The records in this collection touch lightly on the history of the
Candle House.
The chapter (written in 1856) on the manufacture of the spermaceti
candles
describes the method used to convert the whale oil into these highly
valued candles.
One paper, by Ms. Fawsett, features a description and history of this
Candle
House.
The two pamphlets/brochures give brief descriptions of the buildings
in Woods
Hole and mention the candle house. The brochure on historical Falmouth
devotes about
one page to a description of Woods Hole and mentions also the
drawbridge, the lighthouse,
and St. Joseph Bell Tower (Woods Hole is a village within the Town of
Falmouth).
The document by Ms. Josephine Fish, a local life-long resident of
Woods Hole,
describes the history of various houses and buildings in Woods Hole in
1918. Ms. Fish
mentions many homes and their past and present owners. It does not
include addresses or
a map of the location of the buildings (there are a number of errors,
as well, because of the
continuation of inaccurate local lore).
CANDLE HOUSE (FACTORY)
BOX LIST
1. Candle House – Spermaceti Candles – 1856 – a reprint of Chapter XXX
from “A
Treatise on Chemistry Applied to the Manufacture of Soap and
Candlemaking” by
Campbell Morfit, pages 504 - 511
2. Candle House – “Landmarks of Woods Hole” by Josephine W. Fish,
typewritten
original document, dated 1918, 4 pages
3. Candle House – “The Old Spermaceti Candle House and Whaling in
Woods Hole,
Marise Fawsett, 1985, 15 pages
4. Candle House and local history, including:
“A Brief Guide to Historical Falmouth” by Lennie Conley, undated.
“A History of Woods Hole” by Norman T. Allen, Woods Hole Historical
Collection, Vol. 1., No.1, June 1976, 3 pages
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
<gaylesamuels...@gmail.com> wrote:
>In an bit of additional research, think this might be useful regarding
>the "Candle House" question - information can be found at
>http://www.woodsholemuseum.org/woodspages/archive/CandleHouse.pdf
>
Interesting. Thank you.