London . arity between the twodepartments; but there are also differences which make a broad line of distinc-tion between them. All the tanneries in London, with, we believe, one exception, are situated inBermondsey; and .all present nearly the same features. Whoever has resolutionenough to brave the appeals to his organ of smell, and visit one of these places,will see a large area of ground— sometimes open above, and in other casescovered by a roof—intersected by pits or oblong cisterns, whose upper edges arclevel with the ground : these cisterns are the tan-pits, in which hides are exposedto
London . arity between the twodepartments; but there are also differences which make a broad line of distinc-tion between them. All the tanneries in London, with, we believe, one exception, are situated inBermondsey; and .all present nearly the same features. Whoever has resolutionenough to brave the appeals to his organ of smell, and visit one of these places,will see a large area of ground— sometimes open above, and in other casescovered by a roof—intersected by pits or oblong cisterns, whose upper edges arclevel with the ground : these cisterns are the tan-pits, in which hides are exposedto the action of licjuor containing oak-bark. He will see, perhaps, in one cornerof the premises, a heap of ox and cow horns, just removed from the hide, andabout to be sold to tlie comb-makers, the knife-handle-makers, and other nianu- 28 LONDON. facturci-s of horn. He will sec In another corner a heap of refuse matter aljont tobe consigned to the glue-manufacturer. In a covered building he will lind a. [Ncckinger Mills Leather Mamifactory, Dermondsoy.] heap of hides exposed to the action of lime, for loosening the hair with which thepelt is covered; and in an adjoining building he will probably see a number ofmen scraping the surfaces of the hides, to prepare them for the tan-pits. Inmany of the tanneries, though not all, he will see stacks of spent tan, no longeruseful in the tannery, but destined for fuel or manure, or gardeners airy buildings he will sec the tanned leather hanging up to dry, disposed inlong ranges of rooms or galleries. Such arc the features which all the tanneries,with some minor diflPercnccs, exhibit. In the Willow Walk, and one or two other places in tlic vicinit}, may be seeninstances of one of the purposes to which tan is appropriated. A large plot ofground contains, in addition to heaps of tan, skeleton frames about five or sixfeet in height, consisting of a range of shelves one above another; and on theseshelves arc placed the oblong r
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1844
