Does anybody remember donkey stone?

[GREENGINGER]

Is any one old enough to remember donkey stone! where did it come from! & what was it made of! .

I remember what it was used for,whitening your door step, but sadly thats all I Know,apart from you acquired this from the rag & bone man.:huh:

[andrejuan]

Is any one old enough to remember donkey stone! where did it come from! & what was it made of! .

I remember what it was used for,whitening your door step, but sadly thats all I Know,apart from you acquired this from the rag & bone man.:huh:

 

No, I don't remember it. But I do remember my Mum talking about it, saying how everone had pride in their front step, going over it with Donkey Stone every week, then black lead'ing the range and fireplaces.The use of donkey stones gradually died out during the 1950s and 60s. The last manufacturer of the stones was a company called Eli Whalley, founded in the 1890s, in Ashton-under-Lyne, which ceased trading in 1979. Some of that company's old machinery is preserved at the town's Portland Basin Industrial Museum

 

Someone in the family once said it is still available under a different name?

Texleen is still available, made in Blackpool I think?

[Linesman]

The rag and bone men used to shout 'Donkey Stone for rags' when I was a lad.

[Plain Talker]

I STR that Donkey-Stone was a fine-grained pumice stone. (Yes, the same sort of stuff that we use to get rid of hard skin on our feet)

 

It whitened the threshold-steps, when applied with no little elbow-grease by the housewife (or the child given the chore. )

 

Not to be confused with black-lead, which was used on the grate, or the Yorkshire-range, for the titivating -of.

[JOGI]

My mother used to clean the steps with it when I was a kid. It had sand and cement in it and pressed into blocks. The cement part gave the whiteness for the steps.

[Linesman]

I STR that Donkey-Stone was a fine-grained pumice stone. (Yes, the same sort of stuff that we use to get rid of hard skin on our feet)

 

It whitened the threshold-steps, when applied with no little elbow-grease by the housewife (or the child given the chore. )

 

Not to be confused with black-lead, which was used on the grate, or the Yorkshire-range, for the titivating -of.

Donkey stoning was usualy done on Mondays after the washing was done.

Black leading was more often done on Sundays after father had cleaned the soot from the flues.

[earlybird8]

My mother used to clean the steps with it when I was a kid. It had sand and cement in it and pressed into blocks. The cement part gave the whiteness for the steps.

 

I remember it. As you say, I think it had cement and other substances in it (including pumice, I believe) that were pressed into blocks. It wasn't white due to the substances in it, and it used to be an off white or grey colour, It was given by the rag and bone man for 'any old rags' and was eventually superceded by 'Cardinal White or Cardinal Red'. Does anyone still use those, or indeed, are they still available?

[pattricia]

I have never used it but can remember my grandma using it. It was like a competition with the women on the street, to see who had got the cleanest step. Can you imagine the women of today bothering ?

[best sheff]

I remember my dad, saying, "thee mother's making an ass of herself with that monkey stone on t front steps agein"

 

Good old days

[earlybird8]

I have never used it but can remember my grandma using it. It was like a competition with the women on the street, to see who had got the cleanest step. Can you imagine the women of today bothering ?

 

You're right! I think the 'posh' ones used White Cardinal on the edges of the steps and Red Cardinal on the stone window sills. It brings back some lovely memories of my mum, but like you say, who could be bothered to use it today?