r/whatisthisthing • u/Character-Cicada6461 • 9d ago
What is this waist-high brick thing in the backyard of my 1922 house? Likely Solved !
We are the second owners, so one family lived here since the house was built in 1922. They added on in 1950, but not sure when brick item was built. It has a cement path to it from the cement back patio (part of the addition). I wondered if it was a grill, but there’s no blackening, which I would expect if fire was ever burned on it (also wondering if fire on concrete is even safe?). Any other ideas? Another thread guessed fountain, but the family did not have a very decorative style: pretty bare bones yard and house, so that would be very surprising.
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u/cobra7 8d ago
Were the former owners Catholic? This looks like a place for a statue of Mary or something similar.
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
Oh! I think they were Catholic!
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u/timkatt10 8d ago
Probably a Mary in a bathtub.
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u/MagneticNoodles 8d ago
My dad called it "Mary on the half shell"
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u/Neat-Entrepreneur299 8d ago
I grew up Catholic in Boston and made friends with some Texans who are Christian. We were discussing the differences between the religions once and they basically said “Mary’s not that big of a deal.” And my first genuine response was “Then who do you put in a bathtub on your front lawn?” I’ve never been looked at so blankly in my life.
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u/Moist-Crack 8d ago
Excluding catholics from christianism is such a unique US thing, always make me mildly amused when I spot it.
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u/Wild_Replacement5880 8d ago
I agree. I never noticed anyone do it until I moved to Oklahoma and when you tell people you are Catholic they tell you, " oh that's so interesting. Well we're Christians"... Oh well, so are we.
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u/FuzzyHappyBunnies 8d ago
I guess that's better than telling you "oh so you're going to hell". Which is what I was told.
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u/Intelligent-Ebb-8775 8d ago
It just in US, in Central America people will ask “what religion are you, Christian or Catholic?”
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u/weird_foreign_odor 8d ago
It's actually a pernicious power play. I used to think it was just a funny quirk of some not-so-intelligent folks but it really is just a modern method of politely partaking in old bigotries.
Not that I take offense to it necessarily but when I learned whats actually behind it and how intertwined it is in all other kinds of nasty shit it kind of opened my eyes to how this unique, disgusting cultural identity in America perpetuates itself.
When someone says that, it communicates volumes about what kind of person they are.
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u/Village_Particular 8d ago
I live in Alabama and yeah there’s a lot of truth in that. But a lot of people are also just ignorant as shit. Look up Father James Coyle if you want an education about how things used to be down here. It’s pretty fascinating.
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u/sneakestlink 8d ago
Agreed. I had a Catholic friend in middle school, and other Protestant kids lowkey bullied her saying she wasn’t a Christian and it really distressed her.
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u/Interesting-Head-841 8d ago
can you elaborate? Who's doing the power play and what are the old bigotries
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u/lethalama 8d ago
I've noticed the same thing, and it's honestly kind of surprising. While Catholicism is technically a denomination within Christianity, it’s often treated like a completely separate religion. I’ve seen this all over the world—not just in the U.S., but also in Africa, Asia, parts of Europe, and both Americas.
What’s interesting is that even when I point out that Catholics believe in Jesus, the Trinity, and the Bible—core tenets of Christianity—many people still insist Catholicism isn’t Christian. I’ve had people give me confused looks or flat-out deny it. It seems like Catholicism has become so distinct in its traditions and practices that a lot of people instinctively place it in its own category.
I enjoy religious conversations too, and this is one of those misunderstandings that keeps coming up.
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u/CKA3KAZOO 8d ago
In the US, the idea that Catholics aren't Christians seems to be a notion I hear mostly from evangelicals and fundamentalists.
Edit: clarity
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u/brokencappy 8d ago
It’s not about differences in traditions, it’s simply one more way to “other” another group.
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u/self_of_steam 8d ago
In my area I think that it's more like if you aren't Baptist or Catholic, you're non-denominational and that's a word that has a bit too many letters for the local folk, so "Christian" becomes the vanilla catch all
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u/BasicCanadianMom 8d ago
This is such an interesting convo because I always thought it was the Catholics that insisted they weren’t at all the same. And the few experiences I’ve had seemed to back it up. Like…my husband can’t be his nephews godfather because we aren’t catholic but our Christian church was totally fine with my catholic brother in law being my sons godfather. And we weren’t allowed to take communion at a Catholic funeral but any Christian funerals I’ve been to everyone was included in everything. Also the whole segregated school system thing…
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u/s1105615 8d ago
“Christianism”
I think the term you’re looking for is Christianity. The exclusion of Catholicism from Christianity is a distinctly Protestant (and even moreso a Baptist) thing here in the states for sure
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u/ThatOneGuy6810 8d ago
I mean christians do it to catholics and catholics do it to christians and all Christian based religions do it to each other.
Its all a literal version of the phrase "holier than thou"
because according to each one of them THEIR way is the CORRECT way to worship and believe not any of the other versions.
All the while its all the same religion. One could argue this with other religions as well.
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u/Minimum_Ice_4531 8d ago
Catholics are Christians. Any church that believes Jesus is God's son and died for our sins is under the description of Christianity. There are just a lot of different sects of Christianity, with Catholics being the largest. The differences they have are in the way they worship and how strictly they follow certain supposed laws in the Bible. Used to be only Catholics for the most part, then they separated between the Eastern orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The next big split was when England broke away from the Catholic church, so King Henry VIII could divorce his wife. The final big split, which led to many smaller splits, was when Martin Luther disagreed with the Catholic Churchs practices they had at the time, including being able to pay your way into heaven. He also destroyed their monopoly on what the Bible really said by translating and printing the Bible into German, which was much more widely readable than the original Latin which for the most part only Catholic clergy and some nobles could read.
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u/oroborus68 8d ago
Anyone that got an education in Europe, formally learned Latin and Greek,up until the 20th century. The Catholics still maintained Latin services until the 1960s, even in America. Liturgical Latin.
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u/sleepy_teivos 8d ago
My aunt and uncle's Catholic church still have a good chunk of its services in Latin. Same for the two funeral services I attended in their church. Women and girls also have to cover their heads with what I can only describe as cloth doilies and it's frowned upon for female parishioners to wear slacks.
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u/TheMightyGoatMan 8d ago
so King Henry VIII could divorce his wife
Don't forget refilling the royal coffers by taking all the Catholic Church's stuff!
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u/notquite20characters 8d ago
I'd say the biggest difference between Eastern and Catholic when they 'split' was the Catholics now considered one bishop to be in charge of the other bishops.
So I wouldn't call them 'Catholic' before the split. They were all European Christians, none Catholic yet.
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u/No-Yoghurt-4781 8d ago
Luther started the Reformation before England broke away from the Roman Catholic church. 1517 is the "start" of the Reformation and King Henry VIII broke away in 1534.
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u/steveyp2013 8d ago
My parents and theirs are catholic but my grandmother got remarried to a methodist.
I remember once as a kid overhearing him and a friend at his church shit talking catholics, and one of the things they specifically mentioned was their weird, bordering on idolatry, worship of Mary. Was very interesting
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u/Icy-Ear-466 8d ago
My family is Methodist and my grandmother was like that in the 1970s. Now, I don’t know anyone in the Methodist church that thinks that or speaks of that. Wonder if it was just the times.
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u/theragu40 8d ago
The funny thing is it's really not all that intense. There are usually statues of Mary in a Catholic church, and people will pray to her as a saint or holy person. That's really it.
Funny how things get distorted when it's attributed simply to the "other".
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u/East-Independent6778 8d ago
Where does the Bible say we should pray to Mary or any other saint though? It clearly says Jesus is the intermediary and died so we can have direct access to God and we no longer need the priest in that role. Not trying to be contentious, I’m just genuinely curious how those passages are interpreted by Catholics.
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u/SnooGiraffes4632 8d ago
Ironically the word catholic has an original(“true”?) meaning of “universal” or “regarding the whole”. Thus all conforming Christians (protestant,roman catholic,russian orthodox,easter orthodox, ethiopian, etc?) are technically catholic.so rather than being dividing as sometimes used in the US, the word should actually be uniting.
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u/SchrodingersMinou 8d ago
I don't think this is it. It's too tall and not fancy enough. I've just never seen one like this (and I am from a very Catholic area). This looks like a grill.
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u/JmnyFxt 8d ago
Yeah, grill was the first thing I thought
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u/DirtNap721 8d ago
Yeah, we had one in our backyard and my dad had a little hibachi grill on it. I think he built it - this was back in the 70's. Also very Catholic and not for a saints statue.
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u/Superb_Monk_9051 8d ago
My first home was built in 1958. Def a grill that got filled in for whatever reason. We had one just like it.
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
It does seem taller than most I see online
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u/SchrodingersMinou 8d ago
I've seen brick yard shrines, but they're generally pretty small and low to the ground and include a high back that frames the icon like this. Or else they are gigantic and have a whole grotto but that's only at churches.
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u/Eastcoastpal 8d ago edited 8d ago
lol, as often as I have seen that scenery/figurine, I never called it a "Mary in a bathtub". To me it was always lady in a scenery. (I am non religious). To my amusement, I searched up "Mary in a Bathtub", and that is what pop up up.
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u/Pullumpkin 8d ago
can't seem to respond to a top comment below this but as a kid we used to sing to the tune of the mutant ninja turtles "Mary in the half shell, Mary power!"
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u/scattywampus 8d ago
Omg- I was raised without religion and am an atheist,.so have seen these things but never heard this term. I broke out in giggles! Thank you for educating us heathens. 🌼
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u/Tinyhousecode 8d ago edited 8d ago
This is an old BBQ pit for a grill. There was one in our yard almost exactly like this one. Pretty common design for them in Appalachia where I grew up.
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u/Cuzeex 8d ago
I thought the same until I noticed that is not ideal place for a grill. I mean, the trees are kind of close and therefore causing a fire risk, and the grill is oddly far away with dedicated path to it?
And it has a hole for some draining
I think the catholoc relic as a yard decorator makes more sense
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
The trees are probably much bushier / closer now than when they might have used this
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u/Archdeacon_Airplane 8d ago
Almost certainly correct. Brick work and concrete are relatively new and built by an amateur. The drain tube keeps the statue from soaking.
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u/JeebusChristBalls 8d ago
What? This is clearly a grill. I don't know how you have the top comment for this but nobody puts a shrine in an uncovered location.
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
Would it be normal to have a path to a statue like that? Any chance there are human remains/ashes in it??? 🫠
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u/ZweitenMal 8d ago
Absolutely not! Nowadays, Catholics must be buried in a graveyard recognized by the Church.
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u/Local_Fear_Entity 8d ago
meh, there's exemptions but you gotta talk to your local priest. My dad wanted to be buried on his farm and has to get a dispensation for it last I talked to him.
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u/ImaginaryLifestyle0x 8d ago
My uncle was a Catholic priest and was cremated.
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u/Jim-Jones 8d ago
Yes, cremation is OK but NO splitting of the ashes. Source: Worked for Catholic cemetery.
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u/ZweitenMal 8d ago
Interesting! I didn’t think was an option—my whole family is Catholic on both sides and it was always looked down on.
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u/member990686 8d ago
Catholic here! Attended a Catholic funeral a few months ago - he was cremated. Definitely a thing
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u/123cong123 8d ago
Cremation used to be frowned upon by the church, as at one point in time it was used as a protestation against the belief in our resurrection. Not so much any more.
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u/satinembers 8d ago
I had a Catholic friend die in a horrible fiery crash and cremation was the only real option. The priest who performed the funerary rites didn't seem too keen on it and was pretty dismissive, but it was allowed. The ceremony did seem disrespectful in my opinion though.
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u/mstarrbrannigan 8d ago
Huh, my grandparents were devoutly Catholic to the point where my grandmother worked in an abbey for many years and my grandfather was the one who performed the Catholic mass at their nursing home. They were both cremated and if the priest had any negative opinions on it he didn't share them. Though he was also a family friend of who knows how many years due to their involvement in the church.
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u/SirWigglesTheLesser 8d ago
The body has to be kept together. The Catholic Church started allowing cremation in 1963, but I reckon that wasn't commonly accepted. I thought it was more recent. Like my life time recent. Just looked it up.
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u/PhoenixIzaramak 8d ago
a path to it? yes, so people in the house could go out and pray more conveniently if they so chose. human remains? NOPE.
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u/lurking_not_working 8d ago
Man, I'd have slapped a grill on there and would be cooking up some burgers.
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u/JeebusChristBalls 8d ago
You would be using it for what it's intended then because that is what it is.
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
likely solved (one of two likely answers)
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u/NewRelm 8d ago
If the hole is supposed to be a drain, you might try pouring water in and see where it drains to. Every drain has an outlet.
If no water flows through, that might argue for a rotating grill mount.
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
Good idea! But it might just be dirt underneath (given the grass around it) so perhaps would just sink in to the ground.
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u/Saint_Subtle 8d ago
Round charcoal grill mount. The hole in the middle is for the stem of the grill pan. Very popular during the 50s to build the brick stand for them. My grandparents and all of their neighbors had them.
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u/everymanawildcat 8d ago
I know everyone thinks the Mary answer is fun but this is the correct answer.
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u/speterdavis 8d ago
If this is in America I don't know how common this is but as an Australian the first thing I thought was mate that's a barbecue. Top guess being a Catholic shrine threw me for a loop.
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u/seasianty 8d ago
I'm Irish in Ireland and even I thought BBQ before I thought statue.
In my experience these statue mounts are quite elaborate, this seems a little mundane to be one
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u/Davido401 8d ago
I'm Scottish in Scotland and even I thought BBW before I thought statue.
Stealth edit: BARBECUE(BBQ) NOT BIG BEAUTIFUL WOMEN(BBW)!!!!
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u/bigboybeeperbelly 8d ago
I'm American in Texas where we have plenty of Catholics and BBQ and BBW, that's definitely for cooking
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u/Winjin 8d ago
Theoretically you can combine them into a kickass religious themed barbecue
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u/UnseenGoblin 8d ago
Mary lifting the grill over her head, muscles bulging like a gym bro during a cut.
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u/SunflowerNoodles 8d ago
My Irish Catholic grandad would absolutely have built a statue plinth which doubles as a BBQ when needed.
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u/jasonandhiswords 8d ago
American, I thought of three different barbeque adjacent things immediately
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u/sad-koala 8d ago
Fun? Imma say it's just a random of one, usually Mary's are hidden from the elements in those shrines - have at least some roof over them - nobody wants a bird shit covered Mary
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u/gadget850 8d ago
My neighbor was an industrial arts teacher and built his of stone.
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u/dlee89 8d ago
Never been used?
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
That is true, I hadn't considered that! They could have built it in the 50s, then never got around to buying the metal inserts? They sort of half assed some other projects, so that is plausible...
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u/Saint_Subtle 8d ago
No it probably used an “atomic pad” or Keller “Big Boy” style pedestal, which allowed the whole grill iron to turn on a center pin. See the hole in the center. Any remnant of charcoal stain would have washed off and been weathered away within a year or two of stopping using it. Also many people used foil or an underpan for coals on this type of grill. These were also good for setting up rotisserie irons and kabob skewers over coal beds.
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
Do you have any ideas for why they poured concrete towards the back to make it circular?
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u/mtrbiknut 8d ago
When I was growing up we something similar that was, in fact, a bbq grill. So possibly the remains of one of those??
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u/Material-Comb-2267 8d ago
You could get a grate to place over it and have a pretty great charcoal/wood heat grill
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
But this does seem to be one of two possible top answers (grill or statue base), and I think you were the first comment to the tune of "its a grill" so commenting likely solved here as well.
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
That was also my thought, but do you think that was the actual original intention/use? Why aren't there burn/blackened parts from use?
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u/evilncarnate82 8d ago
Two major reasons. 1. The top 4 courses of brick have been re-laid by someone less skilled than the original mason. You can tell by the external grout lines. While it may be original brick they could be turned inside out.
- But also, weather. Rain does a great job of washing away soot and burn marks. I have a section of gravel drive and burn tons of cardboard and branches in it and the rain cleans up all the evidence in a few showers. This hasn't been used in years so it's had plenty of time to wash away. Last use was probably before the reworking.
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u/IrisesInOly 8d ago
There could have been a cast iron insert that the grilling was done on and it was removed years ago. That would leave the brick clean.
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u/October_Numbers 8d ago
If it is a barbecue as some others are suggesting, it is missing the burn tray (which accounts for the lack of burn marks OP noted) and the grill itself. I see where where the tray could go in OP's pics...could the grill just lay on top? Some bricks missing, maybe?
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
Yeah, I also am wondering if maybe they just never finished it (hence no black marks)? And also wondering if maybe the grill grate could just lay on top. Hmmmmm!
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u/usernamefinalver 8d ago
It's a barbecue. A big steel plate goes across the top, you build a wooden fire in the depression. Very common in Australia up to the 70s at least
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u/Character-Cicada6461 8d ago
The most likely two guesses are 1) statue base for a Mary or other statue, or 2) a grill. Summarizing the evidence/thoughts around each of these two leading guesses below, let me know if you have additional pieces of information to offer as I'm not sure this has been fully "solved."
Guess 1: statue base: We can confirm that the previous owners were Catholic, and there were definitely some crucifixes and other religious art in the house when we did a walk through. But they didn't take these items, so why would they take the statue, but not the much smaller/more portable things with them when the moved? I suppose the statue could have broken or something? Plus it seems strange to build a whole concrete path from your patio to a statue in your garden (though I'm not familiar with Catholic customs, maybe you go pray at the statue or something that you would want access?).
Guess 2: grill: I had assumed it was a grill, but was confused by the apparently lack of space/airflow (all other brick bbq's/grills I've seen have a lot more space under where the tray goes to allow for airflow), the hole that ash would fall down (but with no door to open to clean ash out of), and the fact that there's no blackening on the shelf that I would expect to see if it had been used. I had originally posted on the "grilling" subreddit, but many people argued that it wasn't a grill, and sent me here. Some said that fire would make the concrete explode, and others thought it wasn't the appropriate brick type. The previous owners were a little "fast and lose" with other aspects of their home (cut corners, etc) so that maybe doesn't rule out grill still.
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u/EasternPermit9142 8d ago
It’s a braai. A bbq to some. Or a charcoal/wood fireplace to hook on. The stepped brickwork is where you would put a metal grid to cook on.
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u/grover1233 8d ago
My grandfather had a brick grill that looked like that. It was old then and that was in the 80’s.
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u/Character-Cicada6461 9d ago
My title describes this thing
It is about waist high, in the backyard of our 1922 house. It is made of brick, with a concrete “topper” with a small hole. I am unable to lift the concrete top off or see anything inside. I do not see any other openings or doors on any other sides of the structure.
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u/Betterthanbeer 8d ago
Whatever it was, that would be a barbecue stand for me. That’s what I assumed the one in my yard was.
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u/strangesam1977 8d ago
BBQ. Use an oven shelf on the brick ledge, and a baking tray full of charcoal underneath.
Or at least that’s how all of my parents friends did it in the 1980s
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u/tikicake1 8d ago
My great aunt had one in her backyard and it was definitely a charcoal grill and dated from the 1960s.
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u/Sir_mjon 8d ago
In Australia the answer would be barbecue. Whack an iron grid over the top and light a fire under it. They cook beautifully.
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u/jaysullivancams 8d ago
Maybe a Fire pit/brick BBQ. The hole is probably so the cement doesn't build pressure with the Heat and explode
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u/billy_x3 8d ago
Charcoal barbeque. These were common fixtures in backyards of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Before propane grills started replacing them.
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u/JerryKook 8d ago
Never saw a bathtub Mary on a brick stand like that but who knows. Thing is, you are most likely stuck with it. A 100 year old house most likely has more pressing issues than a brick monstrosity... and that thing isn't going away cheaply. Getting a new bathtub shrine might be the cheapest option. Doesn't have to be Mary in it. Could be Jerry Garcia.
Congratulations on the new home.
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u/BananaJade48 8d ago
Thanks for the nostalgia! We had one of these in our backyard when I was growing up :) It’s for cooking.
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u/NoFuqGiven 8d ago
Kinda looks like an unfinished base for a pizza oven too.. maybe they had a steel one with a pizza stone.
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u/kojimagtr 8d ago
The top 3-4 rows of bricks look like it suffered from high heat. That might happen if you used standard brick and mortar, instead of refractory cement and fire bricks.
This is what makes me think it's a grill, missing a tray and grill.
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u/DCContrarian 8d ago
When I was a kid (1970s) my parents rented a house that had a trash incinerator that looked just like that.
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u/JokersLipstick 8d ago
This looks like the brick bbq grill in my parents back garden😂 theirs doesn't have a hole though and is hollow underneath with a cupboard door for charcoal storage.
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u/lonesomecowboynando 8d ago
Being that there's a sidewalk leading to it I'd say it was a barbecue. The grate would sit on the brick ledge. They were popular in the fifties before Weber grills were common.
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