CoalHole
In the days when we burned coal for heating and cooking, the coal man (I never knew of a woman in the job) would deliver the coal in sacks from his van or cart. If you were not so well off the coal was kept in a bunker at the back of the house and often access was only via the front door, necessitating him walking through the house, with all the attendant dust and dirt.
Wealthier people stored the coal in the cellar, which was accessed outside the front of the house via a coal hole.
Here is the cover for the coal hole - note how it allows ventilation, so the coal does not get damp in the cellar.
These covers were universally round - any other shape could be accidentally dropped into the cellar.
CoalHole
In the days when we burned coal for heating and cooking, the coal man (I never knew of a woman in the job) would deliver the coal in sacks from his van or cart. If you were not so well off the coal was kept in a bunker at the back of the house and often access was only via the front door, necessitating him walking through the house, with all the attendant dust and dirt.
Wealthier people stored the coal in the cellar, which was accessed outside the front of the house via a coal hole.
Here is the cover for the coal hole - note how it allows ventilation, so the coal does not get damp in the cellar.
These covers were universally round - any other shape could be accidentally dropped into the cellar.