Winter preparations begin with chopping the last of the firewood timber felled from the hazel coppice last year. The firewood is chopped and split with an axe, as the Anglo-Saxons would have used.
The firewood is split on a stout forked trunk half-buried in the ground. Without saw-cut ends, the timber cannot be stood on its end for splitting, so it is rested in the notch of the fork and split with an axe. While the straight, clear hazel has been saved for carpentry and construction, the knotty pieces have been cut for firewood, as they have little use elsewhere. The twisted, knotty grain makes splitting hard work!
The firewood is still green, it needs to season for another year, before being stored inside the house and burned. While it seasons, the firewood is stacked in a loose cordwood rick to allow plenty of airflow. At each end of the stack, each layer of firewood is placed in alternating directions to create strong pillars which support the ends of the stack. In between these pillars, the firewood is piled loosely in one direction, with the ends facing toward the prevailing wind direction.
In summer, this stack can be left uncovered, but for the winter the stack needs a covering to keep most of the rain off and allow the stack to continue drying. A simple A-frame was made of leftover hazel poles to support a bracken roof.
The bracken was harvested from nearby scrubland and folded over the roof to create a thick layer with no fixings. I aimed to use as little cordage as possible on the rick, as during the Early Medieval period it was time consuming to make and would only have been used when really necessary.
The hazel coppice stools have done well this summer, with lots of lush regrowth, having been well protected by their blackthorn wattle fences. This winter will see another area of the coppice cut, with a second firewood rick being built to season for two years, ready for the following winters.
With thanks to:
Hector Cole, Blacksmith, for forging the Saxon T-shaped Axe.
Grzegorz Kulig, Silversmith, for making the pattern-welded knife.
If you would like to support me further, you can become a patron here:
/ gesithasgewissa
Join this channel to become a member:
/ @gesithasgewissa
Or make a one-off donation:
paypal.me/gesi...
/ gesithasgewissa
/ gesithasgewissa
11 окт 2024
