Chimney as a status symbol (conspicuous consumption): Very soon the need for heat became a symbol of ‘conspicuous consumption’ among the upper classes. A 1320 miniature painting shows a gentleman dressing in front of the fireplace. Also, the concept of a separate bedroom emerged.

Slowly, even public buildings started having this new technique of heating. In 1214 there was an interesting case where a fireplace was constructed for an almonry where beggars waited to collect alms. In York, prisons were provided with fireplaces.³ Chimneys were installed in shops and taverns. Therefore, they were installed in public buildings as well as in private spaces. Initially, it was the prerogative of the rich but it also benefited the poor. Between the twelfth and the fourteenth century, the entire spectrum of society witnessed the development of chimney and it is important to understand how the new heating technology affected the spectrum of society and changed the mores of medieval life.