1676 Inventory of Middleton Hall #8: The Children’s Chambers
This post, the eighth in the series detailing the rooms and contents of Middleton Hall as described in the 1676 inventory, focuses on the rooms named as “Frank’s Chamber”, “Chamber Over Against Frank’s Man’s” and two areas called “Space Before The Nursery”. There is no Frank’s Man’s Chamber nor any nurseries specifically listed in the inventory. Thus, this is confirmation that the list of rooms in the inventory was incomplete.
Frank was Francis Willoughby, the eldest son of Francis and Emma. In 1676, he was eight years old. However, even at that young age, particularly as he was the heir, he would have had his own manservant.
As mentioned in the previous post on The Red Chamber and Old Study, in this era bedchambers tended to be located on the first floor and were a multi-functional room, not simply for sleeping. In the inventory, Frank’s Chamber was listed directly after The Old Study and directly before The Old Lady’s Chamber. Therefore, there is a possibility that Frank’s Chamber was somewhere near the 1391 Chapel.
“Over Against” means that the room listed and the room for Frank’s manservant were directly opposite each other across a flat corridor. Although bedchambers in this era were often found on the first floor, those of servants could be anywhere. They could be located: near their charge or duty; on the ground floor; in a garret; or even in a separate building. Intriguingly, this room is listed on the inventory between the Old Cellar and Old Larder, the first of which would have been underground. Hence, one could hazard a guess that Frank’s Man’s Chamber was on the ground floor and probably near the main Stair Head section.
The two entries for the Space Before The Nursery were in very different parts of the inventory, which suggests that there may have been two nurseries. One was listed directly before Lady Barnard’s Chamber and the other was the last area listed, just after The Chapel.
Nurseries were a room for young children. It would be where the children slept, ate and played. The governess of the children would normally have her chamber nearby. In 1676, the youngest children of Francis and Emma were Cassandra, aged six, and Thomas, aged four. Cassandra would have been on the brink of transitioning to her own chamber, whereas, Thomas would definitely still have been in a nursery.
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, this inventory was taken when the house was closed, not in its lived-in fully-furnished fine state.
The items listed in Frank’s Chamber were three blankets, one three-footed stool, three barrels and three more items described in the previous post on John Ray's Chamber. These were:
One bedstead. In this era, this solely referred to the corded wooden bed frame.
One feather bed. This solely referred to what would today be termed a mattress and was filled with the rigid body feathers of geese or ducks.
One bolster. This was a long firm cylindrical cushion that stretched the width of the bed and was placed beneath the bed sheet.
In the chamber directly opposite Frank’s Man’s Chamber, the items listed were two blankets and:
One old bedstead, stood upright, and another also stood up.
Two flock beds. In this era, the highest status of bed, pillow or bolster filling was down, the next feather and then there was flock, which was a middle-class standard filling. Flock was a stuffing consisting of clumps of coarse unspun wool and leftovers from clothmaking as well as scrap or shredded textiles. It was a dense, heavy and relatively firm filling.
Two pillows, one feather, one flock, and three flock bolsters.
One old leather jack. This referred to a drinking vessel, pitcher or jug that was made of hardened leather. Jacks were popular because, unlike most other materials, they were light, durable and almost unbreakable if dropped. They were made from ox-hide or cowhide that was boiled in hot water and then hand-stitched and stretched around a wooden mould to give the desired shape. When it dried, it shrunk and hardened keeping its form. The inside of the vessel was then lined with a thick layer of pine tar or tree resin to make it waterproof.
In the first Space Before The Nursery, the items listed were three feather beds, two bedsteads with curtains, three bolsters, three pillows and two little pillows, nine blankets and:
One nest of drawers. As mentioned in the previous post on the Red Chamber and Old Study, a nest of drawers was a type of cabinet that contained multiple small tiered drawers.
One trundle bed. In the previous post on the Still Chamber, this was described as a low bed on wheels that slid beneath a higher bed.
One rush chair. Also in the previous Still Chamber post, it was explained that a rush chair had a cheap turned wood frame with a seat woven from dried rushes.
One rug. As noted in the previous post on John Ray’s Chamber, in this era, rugs were not used on the floor but were a thick shaggy blanket.
One coverlid. This was an alternative spelling of coverlet. It was a decorative, uppermost blanket thrown over a bed to cover the blankets and sheets.
Two large fireboxes. In the previous post on the Garret, these were described not as the chamber where the coals are burned but as an obsolete word for a tinderbox, which was a box containing various items required to start a fire. However, there is a possibility that it might refer to something else.
Two “song” stools. It is unknown what these were.
One woollen smoothing cloth. This was a thick woollen blanket laid on a table to act as an ironing pad, or protective cloth, between the hot iron and the delicate fabric of the item, preventing the hot metal iron from scorching or staining the fabric.
Finally, in the second Space Before The Nursery, the items listed were one trunk, one pair of tables and:
A livery table. As noted in the post on the Still Chamber, this was a tiered piece of furniture for livery rations.
One close stool and pan. It was also explained in the previous post on the Garret that this was a wooden box-stool enclosing a toilet pan.
One warming pan. This was a practical utensil that functioned as the historic equivalent of a hot water bottle or electric blanket. The pan was often made of brass or copper and was a wide, shallow, circular metal dish with a very long, often wooden, handle and a heavy, hinged metal lid with punched air holes. Hot charcoal, ashes or embers were taken directly from the fire and placed in the pan. The lid was closed and the servant would place the pan between the bedcovers and sheets. The pan could not be left alone or even stationary because it would have scorched or set fire to the fabrics.
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
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