panhouse

English

Etymology

From pan +‎ house.

Noun

panhouse (plural panhouses)

1. A building in which seawater is evaporated to make salt.
   • 1832, The Monthly Review From January to April Inclusive, page 349:

     Above the large boiler in the panhouse, on the scaffolding which supports the roof, and from which the boiler is suspended, a number of small closets are erected, in which the person taking the bath is seated, so that he is not only completely surrounded by the vapour of the boiling salt water, but breathes an air impregnated with many volatile particles.

   • 1987, Christopher A. Whatley, The Scottish Salt Industry 1570-1850: An Economic and Social History:

     Rather less easy to forecast was the appearance of serious cracks and other flaws in the panhouse masonry.

   • 2012, Jessica Stirling, Shadows On The Shore, →ISBN:

     Bob Gowrie appeared in the doorway of the panhouse. Like his son, he was flushed and sweating and clouded round with caustic steam. The odours of a saltpan in full production wafted into the hazy air and coiled away like cottonseed across the pond.

   • 2013, Con Gillen, Geology and landscapes of Scotland, →ISBN:

     The Arran coal was used for heating saltpans to produce salt from sea water, and also to fire limestone kilns. Remnants of this industry are still present in the landscape at the Cock of Arran, where mineshafts and the panhouse (where the iron saltpans were kept) remain, with ruins of the miners' cottages.

2. A factory in which raw sugar is refined.
   • 1964, The South African Sugar Year Book - Volume 35, page 93:

     The appearance of the Sezela factory has been changed by the erection of a new 100-ft. panhouse as part of Reynolds Brothers Ltd.'s R3½-million expansion project.

   • 1971, Central Gardens Association, Report on a Conference on Amenity in the Countryside, page 11:

     In some factories, where the number of pans is quite large it is the practice to appoint one head panman for all the three shifts to supervise the work of the panhouse.

   • 1978, Southern Reporter. Second Series: Cases Argued and Determined in the .Courts of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi:

     He occupied the position of panhouse operator, and was generally in charge of supervising and maintaining the production processes designed to take place in the panhouse. The panhouse is a ten-story building in which raw sugar is converted in several stages to granulated sugar.