Belfast Sinks
Belfast sinks appear in many American high-end home designs today. Originally crafted from ceramic with thick, deep sides, and having a water supply and drain, they were a fixture in the butler pantries of seventeenth century Belfast, Ireland. Throughout the cities of England, sanitation standards, including sink designs, were developed, and enforced by local sanitation officers. The unique weir overflow feature was implemented in Belfast, where water was plentiful. However in London, wells were dug through hard clay to reach water, and the thought of filling a sink to overflowing was not acceptable. The butler sinks of London do not have the weir overflow feature. A typical size of a Belfast sink is about 23 inches long by 18 inches wide x 10 inches deep.
Butler pantries were built between the dining room and kitchen of middle class American and British homes during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Since that time period, however, butler pantries have not been a fixture of middle class America, and such sinks are now found in the kitchens proper. British English kitchens in large homes would also have an overflow kitchen known as the scullery and later termed the utility room. This is where the butler sink was located, along with extra counter tops, tables, and stored food. The domestic staff used the room along with the butler. Logs for wines and other household purchases were kept here, and the household silver was tracked and guarded by the butler, who may have slept in the butler pantry as part of his guard duties.
In the late 1800’s, French Farmhouse sinks appeared on the market and began to gain attention. The sinks were made from locally available, finer clay, permitting thinner walls and designs that are more aesthetic. Again, the weir overflow feature is what distinguishes the Belfast sink from any other European utility sink models. The conventional Belfast fireclay sink, or ceramic sink, is now available in additional materials including antiqued iron, bluestone, concrete, waxed concrete, enameled stoneware, marble, natural stone, reconstituted stone, stainless steel, composite materials, and teak, a durable and water resistant wood. In the United States, the term Belfast sink appears to be more loosely interpreted, appearing in a variety of shapes and sizes and not necessarily with the weir overflow. The original large, white, thick sided, rectangular, ceramic sink of 17th century butler pantries seems very different from contemporary versions appearing on internet shopping sites.
A double bowl Belfast sink has a multitude of uses. If you wash pots and pans by hand, fill one with soapy water and use the other side to rinse. There are a variety of covers available for one of the sinks to expand counter space for food preparation. To encourage the use of fresh vegetables and fruits, it is always nice to have an extra sink for scraping and rinsing. In addition, if you have a cooking partner, it makes the work twice as fast and twice as fun.
