Medieval Britain
In the early Middle Ages, after King Alfred had finished burning the cakes, fireplaces with chimneys started to appear in monasteries and in the homes of noblemen. British kitchens were moving to separate spaces where our stews could be made in pots placed in the coals and our meat spit-roasted in the fireplace. Throughout the medieval period this remained a facility for just the top strata of society – ordinary folk had to remain content with an open hearth in their simple homes or with community fires.