Jules she/herAnyway the reason I've been travelling through London being bewildered by hipster cafes is I went to the Institute of Outdoor Learning's #Bushcraft conference this weekend and taught a couple of besom broom making workshops.
I also got to attend a workshop on how to make rushlights. Rushlights were recorded as having been made in Britain by the native inhabitants by Roman chroniclers, and remained in use in the poorest households as a more affordable alternative to candles into the 19th century.
They're made by stripping most of the epidermis off the soft rush Juncus effusus, leaving only a thin strip to provide structure but exposing the inner pith. The rushes are then dried, soaked in fat and burned for light. Traditionally pig or mutton fat would have been used, but as candles became more widely commercially available it was apparently quite common for families to buy one candle and melt it down to make 30 rushlights, as a less messy alternative to rendering their own fat. You can use vegetable oil as I did here but solid fats are less messy.
Lone