1676 Inventory of Middleton Hall #19: The Cellars

This post, the nineteenth in the series detailing the rooms and contents of Middleton Hall as described in the 1676 inventory, focuses on the cellars, which were specifically called “The Coal Cellar” and the “The Old Cellar”. Cellars would have been situated in cool areas and, normally, underground. They were traditionally used to store wine and beer and it was only in the 17th century that they began to be used to store coal.

From the description of the stonework of the Old Cellar, it is believed that this cellar dates to the time of the construction of the Stone Building in the 13th century. It is uncertain when the other cellar was constructed. Moreover, in the 1924 auction catalogue of Middleton Hall, it was recorded that there were three wine cellars and one coal cellar. All but one of the underground cellars are known with certainty to have been accessed by various staircases in the Stair Head section. A sketch with dimensions of the three wine cellars, from about the early 20th century, depicts them as being very irregular shaped. It is uncertain if all of these 1924 cellars were present in the 17th century or whether two more were added during the Georgian Renovation.

Although the inventory is a useful illustration of the household at Middleton Hall, because the house was closed, when considering the items a caveat must be taken into account. This is that many items listed in the inventory are not in their proper place and were simply being stored in the room instead. One example of this is the Coal Cellar. If the house was in use, coal would have been expected to have been there. Instead, there was a multitude of items and it actually appears that it may have been in use as an extra beer storage cellar.

The items listed in the Coal Cellar were:

• 21 hogsheads and four thralls. As noted in the previous post on the Brewhouse, a hogshead was a very large wooden barrel used for storing liquid and thralls were strong stands to raise the heavy barrels off the floor. With the four hogsheads recorded in other rooms, combined this would equate to 1,350 gallons, which was the equivalent of 10,800 pints.

• 12 smaller barrels. It is unsure what type of barrel these were. The possibilities include: a standard English beer barrel, which held 36 gallons; a kilderkin, which held 18 gallons; and a firkin, which held about nine gallons.

• Nine pint bottles. These would have contained the specific measure of one pint and would likely have been wine bottles. They were probably made of English glass, which was hand-blown, heavy, thick and a dark-green or black colour.

• 70 bottles. Also likely to have been wine or ale glass bottles.

• Two Boston bottles. It is uncertain what these were but possibly were from Boston in Lincolnshire.

• Four stone bottles. These were durable, heavy, salt-glazed stoneware bottles, often imported from the Rhine area of Germany but may also have been made in London. They were used for storing liquids such as vinegar, spirits, oils, ale and cider.

• Four under tubs and two tin tunning dishes. As noted in the previous post on the Washhouse, an under tub was a long, shallow wooden tub that was placed directly beneath another vessel to catch running liquid. In the same post, it was described that tunning dishes were large funnels used during the tunning process of pouring freshly brewed beer into the fermenting tubs. However, the difference between these tunning dishes and the previous one was that these were made of tin not wood. A tin version was considered better quality because it was easier to clean and keep free of bacteria.

• One Spanish table. This probably refers to a very distinct style of trestle table originating from Spain. It had splayed legs braced by elegantly curved wrought-iron underbraces known as fiadores, which connected the central underside of the table top to the trestle legs. These tables had a thick, solid plank top that would rest not on the corner legs but the trestle ends. By unhooking the iron braces, the table would either fold flat or detach from the top making it easy to dismantle and store.

• 21 whole glasses and one broken glass for the garden. These glasses refer to bell glasses, also known as cloches or bell jars, and were only introduced from Italy to England in the 1620s. At the time of this inventory, bell jars, and glass in general, were still extremely expensive luxury items. Moreover, the specific English lead-glass version of these bell jars had not yet been invented. To have 22 of these was unusual and a significant gardening investment. The only explanation put forward for this considerable number was that they were a legacy of the botanical work of Francis Willughby and John Ray. The bell jars would have been used either to force or assist delicate plants such as cucumbers or grow rarer herbs from the Mediterranean that needed warmer temperatures.

Finally, in the Old Cellar there was just one single item listed:

• Wainscot that belonged to the Parlour. As noted in the previous post on the Chapel, in this era, wainscot primarily referred to an imported high-grade, straight-grained, knot-free type of oak. It is thought that the Parlour in this inventory refers to the Great Hall at Middleton Hall and it is known that the wainscot wall panelling in that room was completely replaced and changed to a new style in 1604.

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

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