Getting rid of smoke from houses was a constant problem. Fireplaces with chimneys were introduced in the 1100s and became more common by the 1300s. Medieval houses had a hearth in the centre of the main room. Smoke escaped through a hole in the ceiling, which was covered by a pottery ventilator like this Redcliffe ware example, which was probably made in Bristol between 1300-1500. It was restored from fragments found during an excavation at Parsonage Field, Stoke Gifford in the 1980s.