"Rushlights" redirects here. For other uses, see Rushlight (disambiguation).
A rushlight is a type of candle or miniature torch formed by soaking the dried pith of the rush plant in fat or grease. For several centuries, rushlights were a common source of artificial light for poor people throughout the British Isles.[1] They were extremely inexpensive to make. English essayist William Cobbett wrote, "This rushlight cost almost nothing to produce and was believed to give a better light than some poorly dipped candles."[2]
One of the earliest printed descriptions of rushlights was written by English antiquary John Aubrey in 1673. Rev. Gilbert White gave a detailed description of rushlight making in The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, Letter XXVI (1789). Rushlights were still used in rural England to the end of the 19th century, and they had a temporary revival during World War II.[3] In parts of Wales the use of rushlights continued into the middle of the 20th century.[4]
Rushlight fixture with a wooden base (pest holes)
It is not clear whether rushlights were ever popular in the United States and Canada. Antique rushlight holders are occasionally found in North America, but most were probably imported from England; "none are known to bear the mark of an American smith."[5] In New England, "rushlights were used little if at all in colonial days."[6]
Rushlights should not be confused with rush-candles. A rush-candle is an ordinary candle (a block or cylinder of tallow or wax) that uses a piece of rush as a wick.[7] Rushlights, by contrast, are strips of plant fibre impregnated with tallow or grease. The wick is not separate from the fuel in a rushlight.
^Jekyll, Gertrude (1904). Old West Surrey: Some Notes and Memories. London, New York and Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co. p. 101.
^quoted in Nian-Sheng Huang (2000). Franklin's Father Josiah: Life of a Colonial Boston Tallow Chandler, 1657-1745. American Philosophical Society. ISBN 978-0-87169-903-9.
^Richard Mabey (1977). Plants with a Purpose: A Guide to the Everyday Uses of Wild Plants. Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-219117-3.
^David J. Eveleigh (2003). Candle Lighting. Shire Books.
^William C. Ketchum (1977). The Catalog of American Antiques. Rutledge Books.
^Lawrence S. Cooke (1976). Lighting in America: From Colonial Rushlights to Victorian Chandeliers. Main Street Press.
^Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire. Vol. XXIII. The Club. 1889. p. 382, first paragraph.
A rushlight is a type of candle or miniature torch formed by soaking the dried pith of the rush plant in fat or grease. For several centuries, rushlights...
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the leaf) of certain rush plants soaked in fat or grease, held using a rushlight, was used as home lighting. Beginning in the 17th century, it would continue...
wealthy, but even then it was considered a luxury. In northern Europe, rushlight made of greased rushes were commonly used especially in England, but tallow...
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thorn bush or branch decorated with flowers, ribbons, bright shells and rushlights. Holy wells were also visited, while Bealtaine dew was thought to bring...
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