1676 Inventory of Middleton Hall #21: The Hall, Gallery, Lobby and Stair Head
This post, the twenty-first and last in the series detailing the rooms and contents of Middleton Hall as described in the 1676 inventory, focuses on the connecting areas specifically named as “The Hall”, “The Gallery”, “The Lobby” and “The Stair Head”. Despite only being connecting areas and passages, some were large enough to even be sub-divided into rooms in themselves.
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 area instead.
A hall in this context meant a hallway. The Hall was listed on the inventory between the Parlour and Laundry Chamber, indicating that it was likely to be an enclosed ground floor passageway that connected to those rooms at least. As was noted in the previous post on the Parlour, it is thought that the Parlour may have been what is known today as the Great Hall. The items listed in this area were:
One little square table in the passage into the Parlour.
Two long tables.
Four benches of which two were of joint work. As noted in the previous post on John Ray’s Chamber, joint work was an item of furniture made by a joiner instead of a carpenter and held together by joints rather than nailed or glued.
One clock. This may have been either a lantern or grandfather clock. In this era, mechanical clocks were not a common feature of domestic households.
The lantern clock was the first real domestic clock and began to appear in wealthy English homes in the 16th century. Built entirely of brass, it had a square cage-like brass frame with a large bell mounted on top. It was weight-driven and designed to hang on a wall to enable its heavy weights and cords to drop freely beneath it. Initially, it had a simple balance wheel and verge escapement and just an hour hand. However, many were later refitted with pendulums after the pendulum clock was invented by Christiaan Huygens in the mid-17th century.
On their European Tour, Francis Willughby and John Ray specifically went to try and meet Huygens to see his inventions. However, Huygens was actually in England at the time and they were shown around by his relative instead. Willughby and Ray also visited other clockmakers on their Tour and were generally very interested in the mechanical science of time-keeping.
The invention of the anchor escapement mechanism by Robert Hooke in about 1658 ultimately led to the first longcase clock, which later became known as the grandfather clock. Hooke was a friend and close scientific associate of Francis Willughby. The first working practical form of the grandfather clock, as a tall freestanding enclosed pendulum, was developed, refined and made by William Clement in the 1670s.
A gallery has various meanings. It could be an internal first-floor projecting area, such as a minstrel gallery, or it could be a room that was often adorned with important items, which was traditionally known as a long gallery. However, at Middleton Hall in this era the buildings were primarily connected via a first-floor Gallery Corridor. Although the Corridor no longer remains, parts of it survive as it was incorporated into the larger Great Hall present today. In the inventory, the Gallery was listed between the Old Lady’s Chamber and one of the Space Before The Nursery areas. The items listed in this area were two large trunks, three chairs, a French table and:
Three turkey work stools. As noted in the previous post on the Still Chamber, turkey work was a luxury English textile that mimicked Middle Eastern carpets.
Two tin cake hoops. These were a mid-17th century English invention and were essentially the early version of a modern cake tin. Before the 17th century, cakes tended to be thicker and doughy, which meant that they could be baked on a flat surface. However, in the 17th century, the cakes became lighter through the wider use of beaten eggs instead of yeast as the leavening agent, but this resulted in a wet batter. The hoop was invented to resolve the problem. It was a bottomless ring made first of wood or thick paper and then tin-plate. In this era, tin-plate still had to be imported, primarily from Saxony, and thus this item would have been an expensive luxury item.
A lobby also has various meanings including an entryway, reception area, vestibule, passageway or just a corridor. Over time, various areas designated as a lobby have been identified at Middleton Hall and have reflected all of those different meanings. It is therefore not possible to determine with certainty where the Lobby identified in this inventory was. In the inventory, it was listed between Lady Barnard’s Chamber and Lady Child’s Chamber. The items listed in this area were a large joint work chest, two curtain rods and:
A box close stool for children with a pan in it. As noted in the previous post on the Garret, a close stool was a wooden box-stool enclosing a toilet pan. However, this was the only one in the entire inventory especially for a child and was essentially a children’s potty.
A children’s can. This was a small drinking vessel or mug made of metal specifically for a child.
A hand rubbing brush. This was a hand-held scrubbing brush.
Two soft rubbing brushes. These were soft-bristled brushes, likely made from horsehair. They would have been used for delicate surfaces such as polished furniture or clothing.
A bristle besom. A besom was a broom. Normally, twigs would have been used for the bristles but for indoor brooms it would have had animal hair-bristles instead. Brooms made with pig or boar bristles were more flexible and softer than those with twigs. The bristles were also more tightly packed and thus were able to sweep away dust, soot, ash, flour or similar small particles.
Two blue jugs. These were ceramic pitchers for serving liquids. The blue colour suggests that they were either English Delftware or German Westerwald stoneware.
Finally, the Stair Head in the 17th century was a single large section of staircases that went to every floor and in various directions at each level. It had stone stairs down to the cellars. At first floor level it connected to the Gallery Corridor. It even went up a further floor to provide access to the Garret of the John Ray Building. The Stair Head was located between the John Ray Building and the Great Hall and stair dowel supports are still visible in the west facia of the John Ray Building. It remained the main staircase section until the area was cleared in the Averill Renovation of Middleton Hall in the 1920s.
In the inventory, the Stair Head was listed between the Dining Room and The Red Chamber. Only two items were listed in this area. These were:
A square table.
One hanging candlestick. This was a candle holder suspended either from the ceiling or mounted on a wall. The term chandelier did not enter the English language until the mid-18th century and before that time any multi-light fixture hanging from the ceiling would instead have been called a hanging candlestick. In this era, a ceiling hanging candlestick could be either made of brass, crossed iron or wooden bars. It was hung from a rope and pulley system in order for it to be able to be easily lowered to snuff out and replace the candles.
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
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