Many more interesting shapes & textures

have been produced this week, more burning

still to do...

   A few people recently have asked what

charcoal was used for in the past.  So I thought

I would write a little about what charcoal was

used for in Britain...

   Charcoal had been used as a fuel in Britain

for quite some time. But the industrial

revolution created an ever increasing

demand for charcoal. This demand was

underpinned by the practice of coppicing trees,

providing a quick growing source of raw

material.

  The main use for charcoal was as a fuel

for metallurgy. First by blacksmiths and then

latterly by industry, until demand outstripped

supply and coal was used more and more.

  Charcoal comes in a variety of forms,

being made in several different ways.

Its uses included; as a cooking fuel,

(probably in medieval barbeques!)

by artists for drawing, in medicine,

to make gunpowder and due to its

high surface area, as a filter...

   More in depth information about

charcoal and its uses around the

world can be found on wikipedia..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal