The kiln was fuelled by sump oil, acquired for free from the local garage, while Derek was fuelled by a combination of passion and sheer determination, for the garden is big, and slopes away from the site, and the logistics of bringing in materials, is an absolute nightmare. Derek singlehandedly having to carry hundreds of bricks from the street below, up a fifteen foot flight of steps, before tackling the garden.
Even having made a former, the construction of the vaulted roof wasn’t easy, working alone. The chamber was to be around 28” wide by 40” deep and 36” high. As it was a down draught it required a tall chimney – the lower part constructed of brick with a wide cast-iron pipe on top secured with brackets to the west wall for added stability, giving an overall height of some twelve feet.
‘A small pottery kiln’ by HV Hueber D.Ph, a six page article with diagrams and dimensions, describing the building of various kilns, kilns that Derek could carry out a reduction firings in.
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