1676 Inventory of Middleton Hall #2: John Ray’s Chamber and Study
This post, the second in the series detailing the rooms and contents of Middleton Hall as described in the 1676 inventory, focuses on the three rooms named as “Mr Ray’s Chamber”, “Mr Ray’s Study” and “The Room Betwixt Mr Ray’s and The Still Chamber”. These are the only rooms that specifically mention John Ray by name. The fact that he is named is one of the reasons that the inventory is believed to date from about 1676, which was when he left Middleton Hall.
John Ray resided at Middleton Hall consistently between 1666 and 1676. He had accepted the invitation made to him by Francis Willughby to stay at Middleton Hall in 1662. However, between 1663 and 1666, Ray was travelling around Europe. Moreover, even when he had a room at Middleton Hall, he still went on frequent trips, visited friends and took up occasional tutoring roles.
The fact that Ray had not one but two rooms bearing his name reveals his importance within the household at that time. These rooms were where Ray lived and worked, writing his works such as Catalogus Plantarum Angliae, A Collection of English Proverbs, A Collection of English Words Not Generally Used and Francis Willughby’s Ornithologia. The proximity of his rooms to the Still Chamber is also interesting in terms of Ray’s work in botany and alchemy. On 5th June 1673, Ray married Margaret Oakley, the governess at Middleton Hall. Thus, although it is identified as Ray’s Chamber, it was not his alone for the entire time.
Only a few of the rooms mentioned in the inventory can be identified as correlating to a room present at Middleton Hall today due to the extensive renovations carried out over the subsequent centuries. However, one of them was the Still Chamber, which was the first floor of the Stone Building. It is thought that the Room Betwixt Mr Ray’s and the Still Chamber may have been the small room that once existed between the Stone Building and the John Ray Building. If so, that would make John Ray’s Chamber the first-floor room of the John Ray Building. This is the reason why Middleton Hall Trust gave the denomination of John Ray Building to that building.
It is less certain where John Ray’s Study was but it should be noted that the inventory places John Ray’s Chamber, Room Betwixt, Mr Ray’s Study and Still Chamber in that precise consecutive order. This means that there is a high chance that they were all in the same area. Thus, it is thought that Ray’s Study might have been the room above what was referred to as the Brewhouse, accessible through the 17th century doorway in the first-floor west wall of the Stone Building.
Although the inventory is a useful illustration of the household at Middleton Hall, two caveats must be taken into account when considering the items. First, many items listed in the inventory are just being stored in rooms, rather than being in their proper place. Second, that this inventory was taken when the house was closed, not in its lived-in fully-furnished fine state.
The inventory of John Ray’s Chamber reveals a set of matching furnishings in a patterned Kidderminster stuff textile. In this era, the bed furnishings were frequently the most expensive single category of items in a household. The items listed were a fire shovel, tongs, three blankets, two small tables and:
One bedstead. This refers solely to the bed frame. In this era, instead of wooden slats or metal springs, the bed would rest on a network of woven ropes, which was known as cording. After the restoration of the John Ray Building was completed in 2007, as a result of this inventory list, Middleton Hall Trust woodwork volunteers researched the nature of the construction of a bedstead in this era and then re-created it. Their 17th century replica corded oak-framed low bedstead was then put on display in the John Ray Room.
A feather bed. This refers solely to what would today be called a mattress. In this era, standard feather beds and pillows were filled with the rigid contour body feathers of geese or ducks. A feather bed was a luxury, owned only by the wealthy.
Two pillows and a bolster. A bolster was usually a long firm cylindrical cushion or pillow that would have stretched across the entire width of the bed. Today, it is considered a decorative pillow. However, in the 17th century, it would have been placed directly on the bed, beneath the bed sheet, creating a firm incline at the head of the bed. This was vital because, in this era, lying flat was viewed as bad for health.
A good rug. In this era, rugs were not used on a floor. They were a thick, shaggy top blanket used for warmth.
Two carpets. In the 17th century, carpets referred to a cloth covering a table or chest not a floor covering.
Joint stool. This was the most common form of everyday seating. A joint stool is one that had been made by a joiner and was fastened together by mortice-and-tenon joints and dowel pegs instead of nails or glue. It was normally made from oak and featured a rectangular wooden seat, a carved frieze underneath and four turned legs. The legs splayed outwards for added stability. They were frequently softened and decorated with cushions or fabric coverings and a stool lacking these would have been referred to as uncovered.
Two Kidderminster stools, two Kidderminster chairs and one Kidderminster cushion. Kidderminster, also known as Kidderminster stuff, referred to a thick flat-woven coarse reversible woollen cloth, sometimes mixed with linen, that was manufactured in Kidderminster. It is known to have been made from the mid-17th century and was patterned. Due to its thickness and durability, it tended to be used as a furnishing textile.
Kidderminster curtains and valons. In this era, curtains could refer to either bed curtains or window curtains but bed curtains were actually much more common. Valons were an alternative spelling of valances. These were short decorative strips of fabric that hung across the top of a window or around the frame of a canopy bed.
The Room Betwixt Mr Ray’s and the Still Chamber contained: one bedstead; one good feather bed; one feather bolster; two small tables; and an uncovered joint stool.
When Willughby had invited Ray to Middleton Hall, he had specifically instructed Ray to not dispose of his books, but rather to bring them all with him. Ray’s books later became known as the Bibliotheca Rayana. When his books were sold after his death, 1,350 works were listed at auction, specifically: 432 English books; 50 French and Italian books; and 868 in Latin and other languages. John Ray had taken his library with him when he left Middleton Hall, but it is thought likely that, for the time that he stayed at Middleton Hall, they had filled his study alongside all his other equipment.
In the inventory, John Ray’s Study was almost completely empty, the only items being recorded:
A Kidderminster carpet.
A crazy livery table. As noted in the previous post on the Still Chamber, a livery table was a tiered piece of furniture for livery rations. In this context and era, crazy specifically meant flawed, unstable, structurally unsound or physically broken.
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
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