Publications
Historical Publications - Rooms
The First Kitchens
Kitchens of the rich were a reflection of their power and status and as such were often a collection of many rooms with different functions and a large staff.
The First Kitchens
The kitchen came from very humble beginnings in the Middle Ages, where peasants lived in one room which served as a room for cooking, eating and general living. The kitchen really consisted of a hearth stone, a smoky wood fire with a pot on top and a wooden spoon. This was used from as far back as the Saxons right up to the time of the Tudors as it was a very effective method of food preparation. Food was foraged so the diet was seasonal…
History of Bathrooms
In more well to do households with indoor plumbing there would be decorative wash stands and wash basins, resembling the bathroom sink with plumbing which is relatively unchanged today.
History of Bathrooms
Personal hygiene in the Victorian period, and indeed in nearly every era preceding it, was not conducted with the same rigour as today. Victorian men and women would wash arms, hands and faces fairly regularly but the rest of the person was pretty much left to itself. This may seem remarkably smelly, but if everyone else smells the same then one assumes the odour becomes unremarkable.
